Bhubaneswar: With a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal triggering heavy rain in Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday held a review meeting with the collectors of 17 districts likely to be affected by the downpour.
Officials said the meeting, conducted via video conference, focused on strategies to tackle heavy rain and possible flood situations.
Notably, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that three districts, Koraput, Malkangiri, and Kalahandi, are expected to be severely impacted by heavy rain. This apart, 14 others districts — Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Balangir, Rayagada, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Nayagarh, Puri, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Kendrapada — have also been put on alert.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed district collectors concerned to take precautionary measures in vulnerable areas. He stressed the need for keeping control rooms at district and block levels operational round-the-clock for regular update of information. Collectors have been asked to take necessary actions based on evolving situations.
Highlighting the risk of urban flooding due to heavy rains, the CM asked drainage engineers and officials to stay prepared with support staff and equipment. Urban local bodies were tasked with advanced arrangements for water drainage in flood-prone zones. This apart, engineers were urged to monitor weak points in river and canal embankments closely.
For an immediate response, the Chief Minister ordered the full preparedness of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and fire service units, with deployments in low-lying areas prone to flash floods and other critical locations. In hilly regions, where landslides are a possibility, district authorities were directed to identify vulnerable spots and keep field staff on alert.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water, and Rural Development Minister Rabi Narayan Naik, and virtually by Commerce and Transport, Steel and Mines Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik.
Top officials such as the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Additional Chief Secretary of Home Department, Director General of Fire Service, Home Guards and Civil Defence, Principal Secretary of Energy Department, RDC Southern Division, Collectors and SPs of the 17 districts, and Director of the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, attended the meeting.
