Odisha government draws plans to shift 10L people from 3K villages

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has deployed all senior ministers to supervise cyclone management in districts.
Fire services personnel ready equipment before moving out to cyclone zone, in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday
Fire services personnel ready equipment before moving out to cyclone zone, in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday(Photo | DEBADATTA MALLICK)
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BHUBANESWAR: The state government has prepared to evacuate more than 10 lakh people from over 3,000 vulnerable villages and low-lying areas of 14 districts which are likely to be affected by the cyclone.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has deployed all senior ministers to supervise cyclone management in districts.

The two deputy chief ministers KV Singhdeo and Pravati Parida will be in charge of Kendrapara and Puri districts respectively while Industries minister Sampad Chandra Swain will oversee Jagatsinghpur district. Panchayatiraj and Higher Education ministers Rabi Nayak and Suraj Surjyabanshi have been put in charge of Balasore and Bhadrak respectively.

Urban Development minister KC Mahapatra will be in Mayurbhanj, Transport minister BB Jena Ganjam, Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan Cuttack and Civil Supplies minister KC Patra will be in charge of Keonjhar.

Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said the government has finalised the evacuation and deployment plans to tackle the storm with a mission to ensure zero casualty and minimum damage to property and infrastructure.

The minister said that out of the 14 districts, Balasore, Bhadrak, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara are likely to face the severity of the cyclone. Senior IAS officers have also been deployed to oversee the rescue and relief operations.

K Sudarshan Chakravarthy, Trilochan Majhi, Balwant Singh, Vineet Bhardwaj, Yamini Sarangi and Samarth Verma have been given the charge of overall supervision of rescue and relief operations in Balasore, Bhadrak, Puri, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts respectively.

Collectors of Angul, Puri, Nayagarh,Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj districts have been asked to identify vulnerable villages from where evacuation will start on Wednesday. The evacuation of from the villages will be completed by the evening. 

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The minister said as many as 6,000 cyclone shelters including temporary centres have been readied in suitable places like schools and colleges. All preparations have been completed in the shelters. Cooked food and necessary medical services will be provided at the cyclone relief centres.

Collectors have been asked to ensure that women, children and affected persons from these villages are shifted to the cyclone shelters where women police and other officers will be deployed.

Besides, around 8,647 pregnant women have also been identified from the cyclone-affected areas to be shifted to the nearby hospitals, Pujari said.

The minister said 51 ODRAF teams have already been deployed in the vulnerable areas. One team has been kept in reserve at the sixth battalion of OSAP at Cuttack. Around 19 NDRF teams and 178 fire services teams have been deployed in areas which will be most affected. One NDRF team has been kept in reserve while 40 more fire services teams will be deployed on Wednesday.

Stating that 800 gangmen have been kept ready for power restoration after the cyclone, the minister said, more than 5,000 packets of polythene will also be distributed among the affected people.

Arrangements have been made to ensure round-the-clock power supply to hospitals, while doctors will provide treatment in affected areas in small groups. Teams will also visit cyclone shelters. Monitoring is being done from block to state level, he said.

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