KENDRAPARA: A three-member team of Assam government visited the cyclone-prone coastal areas of Kendrapara on Thursday to get a firsthand knowledge about the disaster management plan of the district.
The team members interacted with officials of the district administration and Odisha Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) besides locals. The delegation, led by engineering consultant (flood mitigation) of Assam Disaster Management Authority (ADMA) Nava Deka, also visited cyclone shelters at Khamarasahi, Dangamal and Prasanpur and also inspected the geo-tube seawall at Pentha in Rajnagar block.
Other members of the team were ADMA project officers (awareness generation) Limpi Talukdar and (climate change) Mandira Borgohain. At a meeting, district emergency officer Hemalata Bahalia shared the details of Kendrapara’s disaster preparedness.
On Wednesday, the team had visited cyclone shelters in Gopa and Astaranga areas of Puri district. Deka said, "Like Odisha, Assam too is prone to natural disasters like heavy rains, floods, river erosion and earthquakes. During our interactions with officials and locals, we gathered firsthand knowledge about disaster management in pre and post-cyclone and flood periods."
Talukdar said, "Community participation to manage the cyclone shelters and other disaster management works are excellent in Odisha. We learnt many lessons about management of natural disasters during our visit to the two districts."
Capacity building coordinator of OSDMA Satyabrat Padhi said the Assam team also held discussion with OSDMA officials at Bhubaneswar.