Cascading Effect: Officials Reshuffled In Odisha’s Directorate Of Fire Service

Bhubaneswar: A day after constituting a three-member panel to probe delay in issuing fire safety certificates, the Odisha government on Thursday withdrew the additional charge given to Maheswar Mohanty as Chief Fire Officer of the Fire Prevention Wing of the Directorate of Fire Service, Cuttack.

He will continue to hold the post of Director, Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Academy, Bhubaneswar.

According to a notification issued by the Home Department, Sukanta Sethy, who is the Chief Fire Officer in the Directorate of Fire Safety Service, Cuttack, has been given the additional charge of the Fire Prevention Wing of the Directorate with immediate effect.

On the other hand, Arun Kumar Sarangi, Deputy Fire Officer of the Fire Prevention Wing of the Directorate of Fire Service, Cuttack, has been transferred and posted in the Bhawanipatna Circle in the same rank.

He will take over from Salil Praksha Kindo, who will replace him in the Cuttack directorate.

In a significant development on Wednesday evening, the government had removed in-charge DGP B K Sharma and appointed senior IPS officer Abhay to the post. The move came minutes after a three-member committee was set up to probe irregularities in issuing fire safety certificates. It comprises Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathi, Development Commissioner Suresh Mohapatra and Home Secretary Sanjeev Chopra.