BHUBANESWAR: The state government is planning to complete construction of 55 more multipurpose flood and cyclone shelters before the monsoon this year.
A senior official of Revenue and Disaster Management department said of the 55 transit shelters, civil construction in 28 have already been completed, while work on the remaining 27 is progressing fast. The new facilities will strengthen evacuation measures in the vulnerable areas of coastal districts during natural disasters, he said.
“The shelters are being built in vulnerable villages of Balasore, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Puri and other coastal districts. Each of these shelters are being developed at an investment of around Rs 3 crore. The state government had sanctioned about Rs 189 crore for the purpose,” he said.
The total number of multipurpose cyclone and flood shelters including the 28 new ones is 909 and after completion of the remaining 27, it will go up to 936, sources in SRC office said.
With the state evacuating over a million people during major calamities, especially flood and cyclone, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Disaster Preparedness Day in October last year had announced that the state government is planning to construct 500 additional shelters to strengthen rescue and relief operations during disasters.
Officials said the government has also formed cyclone-flood management and maintenance committees involving local community members, PRI members and government officials and field functionaries at the panchayat level.
Around Rs 49 crore has also been sanctioned in 2024-25 towards maintenance of the shelters, while the department will manage funds for various resources for their maintenance in 2025-26. Around Rs 6 lakh has been set aside for maintenance of each shelter in the current financial year after many of them were found to be in poor and dilapidated conditions, sources said.