Odisha govt to spend Rs 200 crore to tackle urban flooding

Bhubaneswar, July 4 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday directed the authorities to prepare a detailed plan with an estimated budget of Rs 200 crore for the management of urban flooding.  

CM Majhi gave the directions while chairing the state level natural calamity committee meeting held at the Lok Seva Bhawan here on Thursday.

He also said that a long-term programme with the technical assistance of IIT Delhi will be prepared to tackle the flood situation in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and other urban areas of the state.

He directed the Urban Development Department to ensure desilting of drains in the urban areas for smooth flow of stormwater following heavy rain.

"The urban areas in the state experience flood-like situations many times following even a brief period of light rain. Responsibility has been entrusted to plan a project to control artificial flooding in urban areas with an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore and submit it before the government , especially in Bhubaneswar," said CM Majhi.

The Chief Minister also stated that control rooms for natural disasters will be opened at different levels. Keeping in view the rise in snake-bite cases during the rainy season, CM Majhi directed the health department to store adequate stocks of anti-venom vials at all the health facilities across the state.

The Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) is the first state level Disaster Response Force in the whole country. The ODRAF teams have brought glory to the state for its tremendous work during various disasters in Odisha and other states, said CM Majhi.

He also announced that the state home department will take steps to increase the number of ODRAF units from 20 to 30 to further strengthen it.

This apart, the capacity of Odisha Fire Services department is being enhanced with the spending of Rs 394 crore out of the State Disaster Response Fund(SDRF).

The government has also decided to spend an additional amount of Rs 200 crore for this cause. Similarly, five Regional Fire Service Hubs will be made operational soon to tackle unseen disasters like the Bahanaga train mishap.

Deputy CMs K.V. Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, Law Minister Prithivi Harichandan, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari along with other ministers and secretaries of different departments were present during the meeting.

--IANS

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