August 16
Our policy in all types of disasters is ‘All lives are precious. So, ensure that not even a single life is lost and that there is not much disruption to normal life, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said today while reviewing the flood situation in the state and directed the officials in this regard. He also ordered the Chief Secretary and the Special Relief Commissioner to review the situation regularly.
The Chief Minister said that there is a possibility of flooding in 10 districts of the river basin due to continuous rains. Therefore, he advised the District Magistrates of these 10 districts to be cautious and take all kinds of measures to prevent the flood situation.
He also directed the evacuation of the people in the risk-prone areas on a priority basis and provide them with necessary relief and basic facilities. He also directed the concerned departments at the state level to provide all kinds of assistance to the districts immediately.
The Chief Minister emphasized directing various departments to keep NDRF, ODRAF, and Fire Service Units on alert in various danger-prone areas and engage in rescue operations where necessary.
He ordered that life-saving institutions like hospitals, water supply, and power supply systems should provide uninterrupted services. Panchayati raj and Drinking Water Departments should make provision for clean drinking water in rural areas, and Health Department should make special arrangements to provide health services to the people in the affected areas.
He also suggested that the Department of Fisheries and Animal Resources should provide the necessary services for the protection of animals and all.
In case communications are disrupted due to road damage, engineering departments must make advance arrangements for their immediate repair. Similarly, he advised the Energy Department to make advance arrangements for immediate reconnection in case of power failure.
In the meeting, Special Relief Commissioner Mr. PK Jena gave a presentation regarding the situation, preparedness, and measures and said that there is a possibility of flooding in 10 districts due to rain in the upper and lower catchment areas of the Mahanadi. 9 ODRF in 7 districts, 9 NDRF teams in 6 districts, and 44 fire service units have been kept alert. The water flow at Mundali was 11.6 lakh cusec at 9 am today.
Along with this, the District Magistrates have also been instructed to keep an eye on the river embankments and close educational institutions where necessary in the affected areas.
Secretary to the Chief Minister (5-t) Shri V.K. Pandian discussed the situation with Sambalpur, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, and CMC Commissioner. As of now, the situation is fully under control and the district administration is on full alert and monitoring the situation. District officials informed that people are being shifted in some places.
