Odisha government will prepare disaster management warriors in every household: Do this:

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on the occasion of Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day on Saturday that this will help Odisha to prepare disaster management warriors in every village and home.

“To strengthen community-driven preparedness, we are training more than 40 thousand volunteers at village and shelter level. In addition, the government will also support elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Urban Local Bodies, Mission Shakti members, ASHA, Anganwadis, etc. Capacity building. activists, and members of the Forest Protection Committee (VSS), as they play a vital role in disaster risk reduction.” He added

Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day and National Day for Disaster Reduction is observed in the memory of the super cyclone that killed 10,000 people in Odisha in 1999.

Addressing the program, the CM said that this day is an opportunity to reflect on the present situation and take a resolution for the future. On this day people pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the super cyclone in 1999.

Odisha has the strongest disaster management infrastructure: CM Naveen Patnaik

The Chief Minister also highlighted the development made in the field of creation of strong disaster management infrastructure. He said that during the 23 years since the super cyclone, Odisha has built the strongest infrastructure for disaster management.

Odisha’s disaster management preparedness has been recognized by many countries across the world. Later, he thanked all the 4.5 crore people of the state for contributing to the development of a disaster-resilient Odisha.

Recalling the remarkable contribution of workers of several organisations, Naveen Patnaik appreciated the efforts of PRI members, Mission Shakti group members and frontline workers like ASHA and Anganwadi workers. He also mentioned the significant contribution of NGOs and community level volunteers, government officials, ODRAF, fire services, NDRF and police personnel in executing coordinated action to reduce human casualties.

Talking about this year’s natural calamities, the CM said that the state faced floods in the Mahanadi, Baitarani and Subarnarekha river systems. The floods caused massive damage to property and affected over 23 lakh people in 16 districts. However, the disaster management teams were able to evacuate around 2.7 lakh people to safer places. Apart from this, the government made sure to provide timely relief to the affected people.

815 shelters built after super cyclone, 55 under construction

The Chief Minister took the occasion to give a clarion call to all the stakeholders to come forward and contribute in building a disaster-resilient Odisha. He informed that around 815 multi-purpose cyclone and flood shelters have been built since the super cyclone hit in 1999. Along with this, 55 new shelters are being constructed from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. He said that the geographical location of Odisha makes it prone to natural calamities and calamities. The state was not prepared when the super cyclone hit Odisha. At that time there were not even enough shelters.

The government is also building the capacity of organizations and institutions that play a vital role in disaster risk reduction. It will boost the capacity of elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Urban Local Bodies, Mission Shakti members, ASHA, Anganwadi workers, Van Suraksha Samiti (VSS) members, etc.

(with inputs from ANI)