The idea was fantastic. The captain blew the whistle and it kept everybody from top to bottom on their toes. The event was to test the preparedness of all the stakeholders to rise to the occasion on the event of a disaster that pounces upon the state or in any of its region possibly during a high floods and cyclone.
The captain was none but the Special Relief Commissioner who made the things to happen. Accordingly, the regional office of the India Meteorological Department delivered a dummy warning message on June 19 to the State Emergency Operations Centre (State EOC) functioning in the office of the Special Relief Commissioner at Bhubaneswar.
Mock exercises on flood and cyclone management was organised by the
Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) across the State to test the preparedness at different levels and strengthen the disaster management capabilities of different stakeholders. For the purpose, a dummy warning message was sent by the regional office of the India Meteorological Department at Bhubaneswar to the State Emergency Operations Centre (State EOC) functioning in the office of the Special Relief. The dummy message was in turn transmitted by the State EOC to all the District Offices across the State.
On receipt of the dummy message , the district EOCs immediately decoded and disseminated the same among other offices at the district level, sub-ordinate offices and to the Multi-purpose Cyclone/ Flood Shelter Management and Maintenance Committees. Then mock exercises on the line of action to be taken in case of a real disaster were conducted at different levels.
The mock drill was enacted at 552 Multi-purpose Cyclone Shelters and
288 Multi-purpose Flood Shelters constructed in 25 districts for providing shelter to the people likely to be affected by disasters like cyclone and flood. At the grassroots level, the members of the Multi-purpose Cyclone/ Flood Shelter Management and Maintenance Committees and the community members participated in the drill.
The districts like Baleswar, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Puri, Khordha, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Subarnapur, Gajapati, Koraput, Nuapada, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Boudh, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Jharsuguda and Keonjhar in which Multi-purpose Cyclone/ Flood Shelters are available took part in the event.
The taskforces constituted at the shelter level displayed the search and rescue and first-aid techniques. The emergency equipment like tower light, mechanised cutter, generator, stretcher and megaphone supplied to the shelters were test operated during the mock drill. The ODRAF, NDRF and Fire Service personnel also took part in the drill and supervised the mock exercises by the taskforce members. Representatives from the Block/ Tehsil level administration, local voluntary organisations, members of Panchayati Raj Institutions and common people also attended the mock drill.
This apart, meetings were conducted at different levels in which discussions on management of disasters were held. Awareness rally was also taken up at many places.
Under the guidance of the Special Relief Commissioner, the Mock drill
was coordinated at the State level by the officers of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority with Managing Director, Bishnupada Sethi remaining at the helm of affairs. Similarly, the emergency wing of the Collectorates organised the drill in the district.
The Collectors, Additional District Magistrates, Sub-Collectors, District Emergency Officers and other Senior officers attended and observed the mock drill at different levels.