6 IAS officers called in, 200 trains cancelled, monuments shut: How Odisha is bracing to tackle cyclone Dana

It will cross north Odisha and the West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island during the night of October 24 and the morning of October 25 as a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph.

The state government is expecting maximum impact in districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur and Puri. Six senior IAS officers, who have previous experiences of managing cyclones during their tenure as collectors, have been deployed in these districts to help the local administration. The cyclonic storm may also trigger heavy rainfall in other adjoining districts, leading to flash floods.

While educational institutions in as many as 14 districts will remain shut from Wednesday till Friday, the East Coast Railway has cancelled nearly 200 trains.

Going by its previous strategy of evacuating people from vulnerable areas to ensure “zero casualty”, the Odisha government has directed district administrations to start moving residents out.

“Priority will be given to shift pregnant women, children and aged persons first. Besides over 800 multipurpose cyclone shelters, the government has prepared 500 more temporary shelters using school and college buildings. We are ensuring all basic facilities, including cooked food, at the shelters,” the state’s revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari told reporters.

Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi urged all MLAs to remain in their constituencies.

The state government has already deployed around 20 teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and 10 teams of the National Disaster Response Force.

Leaves of doctors have been cancelled and they have been called back to their respective healthcare centres, while the health department has directed district authorities to ensure adequate stocks of drugs, including diarrhoea and anti-venom injections.

Tourists and pilgrims have started leaving Puri a day after the state government urged them to. The Archaeological Survey of India has announced the closure of all monuments and museums for two days.

Prices of vegetables, including potato and onion, have skyrocketed in markets as people resort to panic buying.