With the onset of monsoon in Odisha on Saturday, the State Government began preparations to tackle possible floods and cyclones. A high-level review meeting presided over by Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) GVV Sharma at the State Secretariat on Friday decided to conduct mock drills at all 428 flood and cyclone shelters in the state on June 19.
All the departments associated with flood control would inform the SRC through e-mail about the situation. The SRC directed that all nodal officers to be appointed for flood control measures would submit their detailed addresses with phone numbers. Regional Meteorological Centre Director Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu said the centre would inform the State and the media about the rainfall warning in the catchment areas at regular intervals. Sahu also said the two doppler radar units at Gopalpur and Paradip would be operationalised in the next two months.
The SRC asked the Works, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Departments and civic bodies for immediate repair of roads for supply of relief materials in the event of floods. It was decided that a total of 16 VHF units would be set up set up in the flood-prone areas, besides in the SRC office in the State capital. Apart from this, 10 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 12 teams of the National Disaster Response Force are kept in readiness for relief and rescue operations.