The State Government has constituted 10 new Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) units to strengthen the disaster management system in the State, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra said here on Thursday.

Meanwhile, all the staffs of the units have been provided complete training, he said replying to queries of mediapersons after attending a State level empowered committee meeting chaired by Chief Secretary AP Padhi at the State Secretariat.

Necessary equipment and machineries have been selected for the rescue and relief operations for which Rs 70 crore has been allocated. The equipment will be provided to the ODRAF units soon, Mohapatra said adding a total 20 units including 10 new ODRAF units will be ready to face any kind of emergency in the State, he added.

laying emphasis on flood, cyclone and drought management at the meeting, Chief Secretary Padhi directed the Odisha Disaster Management Committee for improving the efficiency of the fire officers and block level officers.

The meeting decided to install rain forecast and weather forecast equipment at blocks and panchayat level. The Chief Secretary directed the officials to link the information received from these systems with the crop insurance system.

Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan suggested the committee to form a team for expanding the system across the State. As per the suggestion, a team comprising MeT, water resources and agriculture officers will be formed.

As part of a decisions made earlier, it was decided to set up three fire fighting forces and allocate Rs 8 crore for purchasing 15 varieties of equipment, the SRC said.

Besides, it was decided to set up Early Warning Dissemination System in the coastal districts by April 2017.There will be 122 automatic alarm systems along the 480 km-long coast through the project.