Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated 100 multi-purpose flood and cyclone centres spread over 17 districts, at the state Secretariat here.
Out of the 100 projects, Puri district has highest of 20 centres, followed by Ganjam with 16, Balasore and Khurdha with 12 each, Kendrapara and Bhadrak with 10 each. Cuttack has three projects while Boudh, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur districts have two centres each. One project will serve the people during the natural calamities and in normal times in Bargarh district.
The shelters will serve multiple purposes of the local residents during natural calamities like floods and cyclone besides serving as classrooms for schools, community centres for functions on a rental basis, 'Aanganwadi' centres and artisan complexes, an integrated service delivery centre for activities like training programmes, health camps, welfare hostels and also disaster preparedness centres during normal times.
These are mostly buildings constructed in school premises, where people can be safely moved in the event of disasters. While serving as schools or community centres in normal times, these buildings are also provided with equipment such as first aid boxes, kitchen utensils, power saws, life buoys, foldable stretchers, search lights, solar lanterns and water filters that would be put to use when disaster strikes. In Odisha, the responsibility of day-to-day management and maintenance of the shelters are vested with committees headed by the block development officers (BDOs) concerned along with community members and volunteers, trained in the use of these equipment.