Bhubaneswar: With the cyclonic storm ‘Amphan’ all set to affect a few north coastal districts of Odisha, Housing and Urban Development and Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Minister Pratap Jena Monday claimed that his departments will ensure water supply to people during and after the cyclone.
After holding a review meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan here, Jena said, “We will ensure that overhead tanks in rural and urban areas are filled to their capacity and ensure that all get potable drinking water during and after the cyclone.”
He said that state government is fully geared up to face the cyclone and has made all arrangements to ensure drinking water supply in all panchayats and urban areas in the event of possible power failure due to cyclone.
“Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Housing & Urban departments have taken all necessary steps to face the impending cyclone. We had a review meeting today on how supply of drinking water can be ensured in all panchayats and urban areas in the event of disruption of power supply due to cyclone,” he said.
Sharing details of the preparedness, the minister said that diesel power generator sets have been provided to all panchayats and urban areas wherever drinking water projects exist.
Also, he said, arrangements have been made to provide drinking water through tankers and in some villages the government has placed PVC tanks and filled them with water so that it can last for at least four to five days.
“We will ensure that overhead tanks in rural and urban areas are filled to their capacity and ensure that all get potable drinking water,” Jena asserted.
Moreover, the departments have made arrangements to provide food and drinking water to evacuees at cyclone shelters through the block administration apart from provision of generators at these shelters.
“As many as 7,600 cyclone shelters have been kept in readiness. We can accommodate around 11 to 12 lakh in these shelters if the need so arises. We are especially focusing on districts—Bhadrak, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Mayurbhanj though our attention will be on all coastal districts,” the minister pointed out.
Both the block administration in rural areas and urban local bodies (ULBs) are fully geared for the cyclone, evacuation and provision of food and shelter to evacuees at the cyclone shelters, he added.