JAGATSINGHPUR: The proposed mega emergency mock drill for flood during monsoon in coastal villages of the district has come under sharp criticism from various quarters as most of the Early Warning Dissemination Systems (EWDS) are lying defunct.
Collector Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar, during a monsoon preparatory meeting, had proposed to conduct mock drills at 44 cyclone shelters in the district from June 19 to create awareness among the villagers on natural calamities.
But the aftermath of cyclone Fani has exposed the inefficient disaster warning system in the district. It has revealed that most of the EWDS and mass messaging system are not functioning, besides cyclone shelters are lying in a dilapidated condition.
Similarly, the alert siren towers installed at various places failed to perform during the cyclone.
In order to ensure timely dissemination of cyclone alerts among people residing in coastal areas, the State Government had introduced EWDS at vulnerable locations.
Accordingly, 122 alert siren towers were installed at a cost of Rs 82 crore in six districts of the State, including Jagatsinghpur, with assistance from the World Bank in October 2018.
The system enables connecting emergency operation centres at the State headquarters with the ones at district and block level.
Each tower can disseminate warning within a radius of 3 to 4 km area. As many as 17 alert siren towers were installed in the district.
Sarpanch of Padampur panchayat Keshab Charan Patra alleged that lakhs of rupees are being spent towards mock drill without adequate infrastructure.
During cyclone Fani, three EWDS, which were installed at Sahadabedi, Ramatara and Padampur cyclone shelters failed to alert the villagers.
District Project Officer of OSDMA Gyanranjan Sahoo said steps have been taken to supply generators and electricity to the cyclone shelters soon.
This apart, personnel of L&T company have been engaged to repair all defunct EWDS within a week, he said.