As the well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression on Tuesday and moved towards the eastern coast with the likelihood of turning into a severe cyclonic storm, the Odisha government has kept ready around 800 cyclone shelters for people who will be evacuated from vulnerable areas.

Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari on Tuesday said officials have so far visited 250 cyclone relief centres where the people will be housed after evacuation.

Food, water, medicine, electricity and other essentials are kept in readiness for the people to be evacuated due to the impending cyclone, he said.

Apart from 800 cyclone shelters, the minister said an additional 500 temporary shelters have been made ready including schools and colleges. The officials at the ground level have been instructed to make arrangements for women in cyclone shelters where women police will be deployed, he said.

He said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has stressed on 100 per cent evacuation of people from vulnerable areas to ensure "zero Casualty" in the impending cyclone.

The minister said the government has also prepared a list of pregnant women who are expected to deliver in a fortnight. All those women are being shifted to the nearby hospital in order to avoid any difficulty during the calamity.

Replying to a question, the minister said that some people are reluctant to vacate their houses for the reasons of theft. The police have been directed to intensify patrolling in villages where the people will be evacuated to cyclone shelters, he said.

Asked about the situation if the cyclone changes its track as forecast by the IMD, the minister said the state government has also studied that aspect. "In the past it has been noticed that cyclones change its anticipated track, Therefore, keeping in view the possibilities, the state government has already identified certain places and made equal arrangements in vulnerable places. A red alert has been issued for nine districts and orange warning for heavy rain in some districts, Therefore, there should be no fear in this regard," the minister said.

The state government has already ordered closure of schools in Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Angul, Khurda, Nayagarh and Cuttack districts for three days from Wednesday, as a precautionary measure against the cyclone, an official said.

The Odisha government has also cancelled the leave of all staff from October 23 to 25. In a letter to all the departments, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) DK Singh has asked them to remain prepared to tackle the challenges of the impending calamity.

Pujari said that personnel of ODRAF and Fire service have been dispatched to the possible vulnerable areas. He said the Centre has agreed to send 11 more teams of NDRF keeping in view the intensity of the impending calamity. The minister said districts have been earmarked as red, orange and yellow zones keeping in view the possible impact of the cyclone.

Stating that October 24 and 25 are two crucial days for the state, Pujari said a red alert of heavy to very heavy rain and wind has been issued for Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Jagatsingpur, Jajpur and Cuttack on October 24 and Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Keonjhar on October 25.

As per the state's advisory, tourists in Puri have already started leaving the pilgrim town on Tuesday morning. This apart, the Puri district administration was discouraging tourists from visiting the town from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Odisha's Director of Health Services Bijay Kumar Mohapatra said that the government has suspended the leaves of the health service providers.

Essential medicines like anti-snake venom, fever, diarrhoea and other common diseases are kept in readiness in cyclone shelters where people are kept after evacuation. This apart, provision of safe drinking water is made for the people keeping view the possible spread of waterborne diseases in the possible cyclone-affected areas.

The Energy department has made arrangements to ensure supply of electricity immediately after the cyclone, said Energy secretary Hemant Sharma.

Urban development department secretary Usha Padhee has directed department officials and civic bodies to take measures against water logging and to ensure supply of safe drinking water to the people in all places.

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