Bhubaneswar: Days after the cyclonic storm "Fani" hit the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, the Odisha government, on Tuesday (May 7), sought the Centre's help in restoring power and telecom services in Puri and Khurda districts, which is said to be worst hit by Cyclone Fani, due to shortage of skilled manpower.

According to reports, the death toll in the cyclone, which hit the state on Friday, rose to 37 on Tuesday with two more deaths reported in Cuttack district as the struggle to restore power, drinking water and telecom infrastructure continued.

While 21 people had died in Puri district, Cuttack reported five deaths followed by four cases each from Jajpur and Mayurbhanj districts. On the other side, Kendrapara district reported three deaths, Special relief commissioner (SRC) BP Sethi said.

"We have sought the Centre's help in providing skilled manpower to assist Odisha in the restoration of electricity supply in the worst cyclone-hit districts of Puri and Khurda," chief secretary AP Padhi told reporters after a meeting with Union cabinet secretary PK Sinha through a video conference.

Reacting to this, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu extended a helping hand to Odisha and tweeted, "A team of 2055 workers, shift operators and staff from energy department will be deputed for rectification work so that service can be restored at a faster pace."

Earlier, Naidu had also announced an assistance of Rs 15 crore for the cyclone victims of Odisha.

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy spoke to Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday and expressed their solidarity with the people of the state.

Financial assistance poured in from many quarters with industrialist Gautam Adani contributing Rs 25 crore and ICICI Bank Rs 10 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA) also contributed Rs 75 lakh for the cyclone victims.