Zero casualty during natural disasters was the “mantra” of the Naveen Patnaik government for the 24 years that it ruled the state.
It is a benchmark his successor Mohan Charan Majhi is trying to follow as his fledgling government faces its first real test on this front with cyclone Dana barreling towards the Odisha coast. Schools colleges and universities will remain closed for three days starting from Wednesday in 14 districts of Odisha.
Though it is almost certain that Dana would cross the Odisha-Bengal coast on Thursday night and Friday morning, the exact location of the landfall has not yet been specified. Different models indicate different places of landfall, between Puri and Sagar islands off Bengal.
Director general of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, said: “The low pressure has already taken the shape of depression. It would be converted into a deep impression on Wednesday. Then it will turn into a severe cyclonic storm and cross the landmass between Puri and Sagar island of Bengal. As the cyclone moves forward, there may be little variations. North Odisha is likely to witness heavy rainfall. Many parts of Bengal would also witness heavy rainfall.”
The IMD in a release said the depression has lay centred around 700 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 750 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal) and 730 km south-southeast of Khepupara (Bangladesh). “It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a cyclonic storm by 23rd October, over east-central Bay of Bengal. Thereafter, continuing to move northwestwards, it is very likely to intensify into a Severe Cyclonic Storm over northwest Bay of Bengal by morning of 24th and cross north Odisha and Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island during night of 24th and morning of 25th October, as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting 120 kmph.”
Many experts believe that it would not make landfall in Puri but between Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts of Odisha. “The landfall is expected to be somewhere in the coastal reaches of Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts,” said Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu, Director, Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) of Siksha and Anusandhan Deemed to be University.
Keeping the impending cyclone and its impact into consideration, the Mohan Charan Majhi government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that there will be zero casualties. “We are working on a zero casualty mission,” Majhi said.
Chief secretary Manoj Ahuja met the secretaries and reviewed the preparedness. The state warned businessmen not to go for hoarding of essential commodities. Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida visited some vulnerable areas in the Puri district to see the preparedness.
President Droupadi Murmu’s proposed 3-day visit to Odisha from Wednesday has been postponed.
The state government has dispatched 17 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) to 10 districts of Odisha (Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsingpur, Kendrapara, Khorda, Bhadrak, Balasore, and Mayurbhanj) and has reserved three ODRAF teams at the 6th Battalion of the Odisha State Armed Police Force (OSAP) in Odisha.
The State has urged the Centre to send another 10 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to the state. The Centre has committed to deploy 11 teams of the NDRF in the state and ten teams have also been positioned in vulnerable areas.
Experts are confident that Odisha will easily handle the impact of the impending cyclone. Having borne the brunt of the 1999 super-cyclone, which left more than 10,000 dead and a trail of destruction on the state’s coast, Odisha has, over the years, built institutions and evolved a reliable mechanism to tackle disasters such as cyclones.
During the last 25 years, the state has witnessed several cyclones including Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014), Titli (2018) and Fani in 2019.
