The Berhampur district administration has decided to come to the aid of students who lost their homes and properties in a major fire that broke out three days ago in a slum area near Khaza street here. With the exam season approaching, the students were worried that they might have to give their finals a miss having lost their books to fire, a district official said.

District Education Officer Sanathan Panda said textbooks for primary classes will be provided from the Sarva Shikshya Abhiyan funds while supplies for high school students will be sponsored by Junior Red Cross. The students will have to report their loss to the headmasters of their schools to avail of the benefits. "We will provide the books once we get a report from the headmasters," Panda said.

Over 300 families were rendered homeless and properties worth Rs 21 lakh were gutted in the fire on Thursday.

The corporator of ward no 17 of Berhampur Municipal Corporation, Mamata Bisoi, said she will prepare a list of students, who can benefit from the initiative."We will soon prepare a list of the affected persons and ask them to report their names to the headmasters," she said. The administration has arranged for temporary accommodation of the victims at a nearby school building, a district official said.