Bhubaneswar: Emphasising on the state’s commitment to disaster preparedness and resilience chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday announced a slew of robust measures during the Natural Disaster Management Committee meeting on Thursday.
Majhi asked the officers to ensure zero casualty during natural disasters and outlined plans to enhance management of urban floods, strengthening response teams and establishing five regional fire service hubs.
Describing Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) as the first state-level disaster response force in the state, Majhi said, “The state will further strengthen ODRAF by converting it to a dedicated force and increase the number of units from 20 to 30.”
The govt is also planning to set up at least five regional fire service hubs to manage accidents like the Bahanaga train tragedy. The fire services are being strengthened with Rs 394 crore from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) while an additional Rs 200 crore will be spent on this.
With the state expecting above normal rainfall during the monsoon, the CM asked the officers to take necessary steps to manage possible floods in the coming months, repair weak and breached embankments on a war-footing.
Recognising the recurrent issue of urban floods, the govt has planned to earmark Rs 200 crore for mitigation efforts and will address infrastructure deficiencies and implement advanced flood management systems in urban centres like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, which are prone to waterlogging and flooding.
The state govt also has plans to collaborate with IIT-New Delhi on technical support. The institute has been given responsibility to prepare long-term plan developing innovative solutions. and deploy cutting-edge technology for urban flood management.

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