BHUBANESWAR : With IMD forecasting landfall of Cyclone Dana on Thursday night, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday started its preparation to deal with the impact of the tropical storm in the capital city.
Chairing a preparatory meeting, municipal commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil asked officials to keep the 72 transit shelters ready with essential services and adequate food stock for evacuation of people from the low-lying areas.
“Dedicated staff will be deployed in these shelters and if needed, more temporary cyclone shelters will be made functional in the city,” Patil said.
Keeping in view the forecast of heavy rainfall, he asked the drainage wing to keep safety measures in place and commission pump sets in advance to check waterlogging and urban flooding. A 24X7 control room with helpline number 1929 and 78098 96621 has been made functional, Patil added.
The civic body has also identified 10 temporary shelters for stray animals. Patil said all zonal deputy commissioners, officials of TPCODL and other line departments have been asked to keep the machinery ready. The Watco has also been asked to put measures in place to prevent any disruption in supply of drinking water during the critical period, while health establishments and other essential service providers were also directed to be on alert.
“Puja committees that have not yet dismantled the Durga Puja pandals from the mandaps have been asked to do so in the next two days,” the BMC commissioner said. One ODRAF team is on standby in the city for rescue and relief operations, if needed. “We are also in touch with OSDMA in case there is a need to dispatch more rescue teams,” a senior BMC official said.