Bhubaneswar: Recalling the precious lives lost in the 1999 super cyclone and the remarkable work done since then in keeping Odisha safe during calamities, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced that Rs 2,000 cr will be spent on improving infrastructure for a disaster-resilient Odisha.
The Odisha CM announced four regional disaster response centres will come up in Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rayagada soon to deal with disasters.
In a video message on the occasion of the state-wide celebration of Disaster Preparedness Day by Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) today at the local Rabindra Mandap, the Chief Minister further said, “Our state has now become a model for other states and countries, in the field of disaster management. Odisha’s effective disaster management efforts have been widely appreciated at all levels.”
‘Odisha has been awarded the prestigious Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Disaster Management Award for the year 2023 by the Government of India,” he said.
The Chief Minister mentioned the Bahanaga train tragedy which took place on June 2 this year, in which 288 people were killed and hundreds of passengers were injured. “Many precious lives were saved by providing all the emergency services by the state government and medical facilities to the seriously injured,” CM Naveen said and thanked the local people, volunteers, Panchayatiraj members, ODRAF, Fire Service, NDRF and doctors for their tireless efforts in saving many lives.
The Chief Minister announced that the state government has decided to set up four regional disaster response centres in Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rayagada to deal with any such disaster.
This year the theme of ‘Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day’ is ‘Stronger Communities, Safer Odisha’. Communities are the first rescuers in any disaster situation. Necessary amendments have been made to the Panchayat Act to ensure disaster management planning at the Panchayatiraj Institution level. Disaster management plans will be prepared in more than 10,000 sensitive villages to strengthen the communities. The government is giving priority to strong infrastructure.
The Chief Minister said that more than Rs 2,000 crore will be spent to create infrastructure for disaster management and statewide risk mapping will be done for various disasters.
State Revenue, Disaster Management, School and Mass Education Minister Sudam Marndi presided over the program and said that October 29 is an important day for the people of Odisha. “On this day in 1999, we were determined to deal successfully with the calamity in the coming days,” he said.
In the program, Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena highlighted how Odisha has strengthened its disaster management infrastructure and increased institutional capacity by learning from the experience of the 1999 super cyclone and subsequent cyclones. He said that the state government has achieved promising success in dealing with disasters by emphasizing zero casualties on the basis of ‘every life is precious’, citing the ideals of the Chief Minister. Emphasizing community cooperation, he expressed hope that the people of Odisha will be able to face any calamity in the coming days.
Additional Chief Secretary and Special Relief Commissioner, Revenue and Disaster Management Department Satyabrat Sahu said that the government is currently making efforts to reduce the number of deaths due to floods, storms, lightning, lightning, & drowning and protection & extension of Hentala forest to reduce the impact of tsunami, plantation of palm trees to reduce the impact of lightning.
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