BHUBANESWAR: With the cyclone brewing over Bay of Bengal and likely to bring heavy rainfall in many parts of Odisha on May 10 and 11, the State government on Saturday asked the urban local bodies (ULBs) to take all precautionary measures against waterlogging in advance.
H&UD minister Pratap Jena who reviewed the preparedness of civic bodies said alert has been sent to 77 ULBs in 18 districts likely to be affected by the storm. He said generator and pump sets will be commissioned to low-lying pockets of urban local bodies in advance to drain water in case of heavy rain. The focus will be majorly on low-lying areas of Cuttack and Puri where waterlogging is a major issue in the event of heavy rains.
The Minister also informed that steps will be taken for evacuation of people to transit homes if required.
“We have readied the transit cyclone shelters in ULBs which will be used during an emergency,” the Minister said.