TV
The restoration and relief works have begun in full swing after the season’s first Cyclone Dana made its landfall on the Odisha coast in the early hours of Friday. Fire Services, ODRAF, and NDRF teams have been engaged in removing uprooted trees and clearing public roads.
The districts of Bhadrak, Balasore, and Kendrapara were the worst hit and woke up to turbulent seas, gusty winds and rainfall as an impact of Cyclone Dana on Friday morning. However, residents of Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Puri breathed a sigh of relief with light showers and cloudy weather in some parts.
Speaking exclusively to OTV, Fire Services DG Sudhansu Sarangi informed that the restoration work was going on in full swing and things would be normal soon.
“Three districts have been impacted hugely- Kendrapara’s Pattamundai, Rajakanika, Rajnagar, Balasore’s Soro, Baripada, Khaira and Bhadrak’s Chandbali, Dhamnagar and Basudevpur. There was partial impact in Jagatsinghpur’s Kujang area,” the DG informed.
“The Chief Minister has directed us to clear all roads. Hundreds of trees have been blown away and fallen on roads. Our first priority is to cut down the trees blocking public roads, and routes to hospitals, medicals, and other essential institutions. Some trees have fallen on people’s houses and electric poles. They will also be cleared on a priority basis,” he added.
“We are well prepared to tackle any situation. There is nothing to panic about as all fire stations have been well equipped with modern and advanced equipment that is used by NDRF and ODRAF. Moreover, Odisha is the only state where every block has a fire station and every fire station is a nodal center for disaster response,” the DG stated.
The DG further said, “I was an SP when the 1999 super cyclone hit Odisha. Now, I have become DG. Over the years, I have faced several such disasters, and I can safely say ‘our capacity to handle natural disasters has increased’. In 1999, we lacked basic equipment, but now the government has made fire department the first responders.”
Earlier, CM Mohan Majhi took stock of the landfall situation of Cyclone Dana and said that the government’s target of ‘zero casualty’ was achieved. Flight and train services have been resumed in Bhubaneswar with life slowly getting back to normal.
