Bhubaneswar: While the BJP leaders including Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are criticizing the BJD government alleging its poor preparedness to respond the calamity, the Centre has highly appreciated the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha Government for its proper arrangements to deal with Cyclone Titli and subsequent floods in the State.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), an agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that the Odisha Government has ensured unified action by multiple agencies and speedy mobilization of additional rescue teams, relief material and equipment, and restored normalcy within a short span of time due to effective strategies adopted during the preparatory phase.
Even as Titli continued to batter out coastline with strong winds speed touching close to 149 kmph, torrential rain and a metre high storm surge, a prepared Odisha administration was all set to dampen its spirits, the NDMA said in its recently published newsletter Aapda Samvaad’.
“The story of Titli, however, does not lie in what it did. It lies in what it could not do. Despite its ferocity, the number of deaths were contained within two digits”, the agency said.
“With the IMD accurately predicting its path and ferocity well in advance, a pro-active government machinery timely putting preparedness and mitigation measures in place, and the indefatigable spirit of the affected people, the States picked up their pieces and were up and running within a few days”, it added.
The Odisha Government had set for itself the target of ‘zero casualty’. Around 3,00,000 people from low lying areas and kuchchha houses, especially in five coastal districts of Ganjam, Puri, Jagatasinghpur, Khurda and Kendrapara, were evacuated and brought to designated shelters.
Emergency services such as hospitals and power companies were put on alert. Schools, colleges and anganwadis were ordered to shut across the State for October 11 and 12.
The cyclone struck with full force. It killed 93 people – 77 in Odisha, including those gone missing – Gajapati (52), Ganjam (19), Kandhamal (02), Keonjhar (01), Nayagarh (01), Angul (01) and Cuttack (01) and 16 in Andhra Pradesh – Srikakulam (14) and Vizianagaram (02). It affected more than 60 lakh people in Odisha and more than 14 lakh in Andhra Pradesh, the NDMA said.