BHUBANESWAR: Even as the likely impact of cyclone Montha will be limited to the south, south-coastal and interior districts, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Monday said the government is fully prepared to deal with any situation, with a target of zero casualty.
Addressing mediapersons here after reviewing the cyclone preparedness, Pujari said the IMD has downgraded the intensity of the storm in Odisha. Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts which were in the red alert category have been brought down to yellow and orange category. Some other districts like Bargarh, Sonepur, Nuapada and Balangir have been included in the orange alert category taking into consideration the probable rainfall. Similarly, the prediction for Nabarangpur district has been revised from red to yellow alert.
“Despite these variations in the prediction, taking into account the changes in path of the cyclone, the state government is going ahead with full preparations to deal with any situation,” he added.
The minister said 3,000 people from vulnerable places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Ganjam, Rayagada and Gajapati have been shifted to the cyclone shelters. The government has set a target to evacuate more than 32,500 people to cyclone shelters by Tuesday morning.
The minister said as the cyclone is likely to move towards Chhattisgarh after making landfall, heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places over the neighbouring state. For this, the water management of Hirakud Dam is being regulated as per the previous arrangements, he added.