Disaster management to be part of school curriculum in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: With the memories of the devastation caused by the 1999 super cyclone still fresh in the minds of people, Odisha government has chalked out a concrete action plan to tackle any such natural disasters in the State.

After 18 years of the super cyclone, Odisha is shortly going to include disaster management in school curriculum from next academic session.

“As per the guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority, School Safety Policy will be implemented by school and mass education department shortly. Focus will be given on imparting life saving skill training to children at school levels and new syllabus on disaster management will also be included in curriculum,” said Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) MD Pradipta Mohapatra.

Speaking on the occasion of Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day and National Day for Disaster Reduction today in Bhubaneswar, Mohapatra informed that the theme for this year’s disaster preparedness day is ‘Early Warning to Save Lives’.

further informed that Odisha will be the first State in the country to have Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) particularly for six coastal districts of the State that are prone to such natural disasters shortly.

The work of installation has been completed and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate the advanced warning systems by November 15. A model of the advanced early warning system was showcased during the Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day celebrations in Bhubaneswar today.

“Today, is the day to remember those who lost their lives in super cyclone in 1999. Since then, Odisha has become a model State for world in disaster preparedness and risk mitigation,” said Patnaik.

Patnaik said that Odisha government’s continuous efforts are on to minimize the loss of life and property.

So far, 879 multipurpose cyclone and flood shelters, 17,000 ODRP houses for Phailin affected of Ganjam and Khurda districts, 571 houses at R&R site at Bagpatia for sea inundation affected people of Satabhaya in Kendrapara district,

Official sources said, ‘Alert Siren Systems’ have been installed at 122 locations within 1.5 km of six different coastal districts to disseminate cyclone and Tsumani warning to the people.

The six coastal districts include Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Ganjam.

A protocol has been developed to ensure that people have no difficulties in understanding the gravity of situation depending on the number of sirens that would go off from such towers.

Official sources said, 328 villages in 22 blocks of six coastal districts have been identified as prone to Tsunami in Odisha.