Bhubaneshwar, Oct 22: Hemanta Sharma, Principal Secretary of Odisha's Department of Energy, has said that energy grids and emergency transmission towers in the districts expected to be affected by Cyclone Dana are being monitored.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Dana would cross the north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island during the night of October 24 and early morning of October 25.
"All preparations are going on. Our electricity distribution companies in Baleswar, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, and Cuttack have alerted their executive engineers and SDPOs and set up a control room. Manpower has been arranged to repair and restore any kind of damage," Sharma told ANI.
"Working gangs have been mobilised. Vulnerable grids and emergency transmission towers in these districts are being mapped. Our arrangements will be completed as per the SOP in the coming days. We will control the power supply on 24-25 October, seeing the intensity of rain and the wind speed," he added.
Meanwhile. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has said that the state government is fully prepared to tackle any situation arising out of Cyclone Dana.
"Zero casualties will be ensured. There is no need to panic. The government is fully prepared to tackle the situation," Majhi said after a review meeting on the state's cyclone preparedness.
"100% evacuation will be made after identifying vulnerable areas. NDRF, ODRAF & Fire Services teams are kept ready. The government is closely monitoring the situation," he added.
The Chief Minister said that cyclone shelters will be equipped with all necessities and essential commodities.
"Discussion was also held for early restoration of power and water supply and telephone and road communication. Uninterrupted electricity will be ensured to hospitals. The concerned department has already kept a close watch to prevent hoarding or overcharging of essential commodities," the Chief Minister said.
Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said on Monday that multiple departments in the state have been instructed to be on high alert as the IMD has predicted heavy rainfall in the state due to cyclone Dana.
"The Odisha government is in total preparedness in both the energy and agriculture departments, apart from that the revenue department is also totally prepared. We have taken our reviews, the department has issued necessary instructions to the concerned officers and others. Their leaves have been cancelled and they've all been told to be on high alert," the Dy CM told ANI.
The Deputy CM further told ANI that Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak will be mainly affected by the cyclone.
"The basic issue is that now even the Meteorological Department is not able to predict and project which way the cyclone is going to go...They are estimating that it may move towards North Odisha. Three districts may mainly be affected, Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak. The rest of the coastal districts like Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Ganjam and others may receive heavy rainfall," he said.
Mentioning that advisories have been given to various officers to prepare for evacuation, the deputy CM added, "Basic advisories have been given to all the agricultural officers and the district collectors and everybody to be prepared to ensure that whatever rainwater comes is quickly evacuated," he added.
(ANI)