Odisha: 800 cyclone relief shelters ready to house evacuated people after severe cyclonic alert storm

Fishermen shift their boats in preparations for Cyclone Dana. Pic/PTI

The Odisha government has kept ready around 800 cyclone shelters for people who will be evacuated from vulnerable areas as the well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on Tuesday and moved towards the eastern coast with the likelihood of turning into a severe cyclone Dana, reported the PTI.

Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Tuesday said officials have so far visited 250 cyclone relief centres where the people will be housed after evacuation.

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He said that food, water, medicine, electricity and other essentials are kept in readiness for the people to be evacuated due to the impending cyclone.

Apart from 800 cyclone shelters, the minister said an additional 500 temporary shelters have been made ready including schools and colleges. The officials at the ground level have been instructed to make arrangements for women in cyclone shelters where women police will be deployed, he said.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has stressed on 100 per cent evacuation of people from vulnerable areas to ensure "zero Casualty" in the impending cyclone, Pujari said.

The minister said the government has also prepared a list of pregnant women who are expected to deliver in a fortnight. All those women are being shifted to the nearby hospital in order to avoid any difficulty during the calamity.

Asked about the situation if the cyclone changes its track as forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the minister said that the state government has also studied that aspect. "In the past it has been noticed that cyclones change its anticipated track, Therefore, keeping in view the possibilities, the state government has already identified certain places and made equal arrangements in vulnerable places. A red alert has been issued for nine districts and orange warning for heavy rain in some districts, Therefore, there should be no fear in this regard," the minister said, according to the PTI.

The state government has already ordered closure of schools in Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Angul, Khurda, Nayagarh and Cuttack districts for three days from Wednesday, as a precautionary measure against the cyclone, an official said.

The Odisha government has also cancelled the leave of all staff from October 23 to 25. In a letter to all the departments, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) DK Singh has asked them to remain prepared to tackle the challenges of the impending calamity.

Suresh Pujari further said that personnel of ODRAF and Fire service have been dispatched to the possible vulnerable areas. He said the Centre has agreed to send 11 more teams of NDRF keeping in view the intensity of the impending calamity. The minister said districts have been earmarked as red, orange and yellow zones keeping in view the possible impact of the cyclone, as per the PTI.

Stating that October 24 and 25 are two crucial days for the state, Pujari said a red alert of heavy to very heavy rain and wind has been issued for Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsingpur, Jajpur and Cuttack on October 24 and Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Keonjhar on October 25.

As per the state's advisory, tourists in Puri have already started leaving the pilgrim town on Tuesday morning. This apart, the Puri district administration was discouraging tourists from visiting the town from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Odisha's Director of Health Services Bijay Kumar Mohapatra said that the government has suspended the leaves of the health service providers, the PTI reported.

(with PTI inputs)