BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said the government would put the best foot forward to stick to its proven ‘Zero Casualty” policy as cyclonic storm Amphan formed over the Bay of Bengal. Reviewing the State’s preparedness for a possible disaster, the Chief Minister directed the Collectors to keep evacuation plan ready to shift seven lakh people to safer places if the situation demanded.
About seven lakh people in the coastline villages of the State could be affected by the storm which, as per current track projection, is headed towards north Odisha and West Bengal coast with likely landfall between May 18 and 20. During cyclone Fani last year in May, the State had evacuated over 14 lakh people to safety.
“Collectors may keep evacuation plan in readiness, in case of need to shift people from vulnerable low lying areas and those living in thatched houses. This would be fine tuned after getting further updates from the India Meteorological Department (IMD),” Naveen said.“As always saving lives is our priority. We should put our best efforts to save every precious human life,” he stressed.
Amphan, lying 1,040 km south of Paradip and 1,200 km south-south west of Digha is expected to turn into a severe cyclonic storm in next 24 hours and then into a very severe cyclonic storm by May 18. From its current north-northwest movement, it would recurve to a north-northeast direction and go towards north Odisha, West Bengal and Bangladesh coast.
Faced with another crisis in the midst of Covid-19 battle, the State Government has asked engineering departments to make prior arrangements for quick restoration of road communication that could be disrupted during the cyclone.
CM sets Zero Casualty target for Amphan
The Energy department has been asked to make necessary arrangements for quick restoration of power supply. Earlier in the day, Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba reviewed preparedness of the states in a meeting with Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy. The Chief Secretary apprised him that around 403 cyclone shelters have been identified in the likely to be affected region, of which 105 are being used as temporary medical centres (TMCs) for people quarantined for Covid-19.
As a contingency measure, alternative buildings have also been identified for use as cyclone shelters, in case there is a need for more evacuation. All 12 coastal districts have been alerted to meet any eventuality in case of a change of track by the cyclone.
Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena said that 20 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), 17 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 335 units of fire and disaster management are in readiness. Four NDRF teams have moved to Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur and Balasore districts, 11 ODRAF units are pre-positioned in eight coastal and nearby districts. Further deployment is being planned, he said. Telecom service providers have also been asked to be ready with alternate power supply and measures for ensuring uninterrupted communication lines.