Bhubaneswar: In view of cyclone and subsequent flood-like situation in Odisha, the state government on Friday cancelled leave and holidays of officers in the State Secretariat and Heads of Departments during the Puja.
All secretaries and Heads of Departments have been directed to ensure proper roster arrangement so that the offices are open during the vacation.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had constituted a three-member ministerial committee, comprising Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty, Water Resources Minister Niranjan Pujari and Energy Minister Sushanta Singh, to monitor the relief rescue and restoration operations the worst-affected Ganjam, Gajapari and Rayagada districts.
During a video conferencing at the State Secretariat here, the Chief Minister directed the collectors of these three cyclone-hit districts to provide free cooked food to the affected people for seven days. He also asked them to immediately repair the breaches in the river embankments caused by the flood, evacuate people from the low-lying areas to safer places with provision of free cooked for them, conduct health camps and veterinary camps in the affected areas with free distribution of medicines and take up restoration of road and power connectivity on a war footing.
Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said under the influence of the cyclone Titli, there has been widespread rainfall in several districts of the state with more than 300 mm rainfall in G Udayagiri and Kantapada in Kandhamal district. “Due to heavy rainfall in Ganjam district, there is a flood situation in Aska and Purushottampur. For relief and rescue operations, 14 NDRF and 12 ODRAF teams have been deployed in Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts,” he said.
He also informed that two helicopters from Visakhapatnam are on the way to Odisha for evacuation of people and distribution of relief materials in the three affected districts.
