Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi announced on October 25, morning that the state has successfully achieved its target of ‘Zero casualty’ in the wake of the severe Cyclonic Storm Dana. After reviewing the situation in Bhubaneswar, CM Majhi confirmed that the cyclone made landfall between Bhitarkanika and Dhamra around midnight.
The Chief Minister praised the timely actions of the administration, which helped avert any loss of life. He noted that district collectors have been directed to carry out immediate damage assessments in the affected areas. “Our goal of ‘zero casualty’ was met due to the proactive response of the administration,” Majhi stated.
Restoration efforts are already underway in regions where blockages, damaged electricity poles, and transformers have been reported. CM Majhi assured that all blocked roads will be cleared by 1 PM today, and power restoration is expected to be completed by this evening.
Flight operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar resumed at 9 AM, marking a return to normalcy. The Chief Minister credited the success in managing the cyclone’s impact to the blessings of Lord Jagannath and the coordinated efforts of administrative officials and rescue teams, who worked tirelessly on the ground for 72 hours.
Top officials, including Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, DGP YB Khurania, and SRC Deoranjan Kumar Singh, have been closely monitoring the situation around the clock. CM Majhi also mentioned that the wind speed of Cyclone Dana has been gradually decreasing, and heavy rainfall is expected to subside in the next few hours.
Earlier on October 24 late night, CM Mohan Charan Majhi had reviewed cyclone preparedness with Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Shri Suresh Pujari, Chief Secretary Shri Manoj Kumar Ahuja, and other senior officers at the Office of the State Relief Commissioner around 11:30 PM.
The Chief Minister had stated that adequate supplies of dry and cooked food, medicines, and drinking water were being provided. Additionally, 19,476 livestock have been relocated to safer areas with fodder. No casualties of humans or livestock have been reported. The Chief Minister was pleased to mention that around 1,600 women gave birth to their newborns out of the 4,431 expecting mothers at maternity homes (Maa Gruha) and healthcare facilities where they had been brought in over the last two days as a preventive measure.
In light of the expected changes in the cyclone’s path over land following landfall, the district administrations of Keonjhar, Angul, and Dhenkanal have been placed on alert.
The assurance of all-round support from the Government of India has bolstered the state’s efforts to handle the calamity effectively.
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