Cuttack: Collector Arvind Agrawal asked officials of the district administration to introduce appropriate measures to deal with heavy rain and flood-like situation in this monsoon season.
Chairing a meeting of the District Level Natural Calamity Committee here Saturday, Agrawal held discussions with the officials of various departments to take stock of the preparedness of the administration to manage flood and other natural calamities in Cuttack district.
Participating in the meeting, several MLAs and MPs asked the executive engineers of Water Resources department to identify weak spots on river embankments and take immediate steps to strengthen them.
Athagarh MLA and state Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain and Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab asked the officials of Water Resources department to consult local legislators to repair at least six weak spots on Mahanadi, Birupa and Chitroptala river embankments.
Putting emphasis on concrete measures to avoid waterlogging in Cuttack city, Choudwar-Cuttack MLA Souvic Biswal told the administration to introduce measures for proper conservation and utlisation of rainwater. He also sought the intervention of district collector to strengthen Mahanadi embankments.
Similarly, Salipur MLA Prashant Behera put emphasis on proper maintenance of Mahanadi embankments to prevent floods.
Elaborating on measures to deal with cyclonic storms in Odisha, Housing and Urban development Minister Pratap Jena said the state government has decided to arrange generators for all drinking water projects under Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to ensure uninterrupted water supply to people. “The state government has planned to implement various housing projects at Hadiapatha in Cuttack,” Jena added.
Baramba MLA Debi Prasad Mishra and Cuttack-Sadar MLA Chandrasarathi Behera emphasised on early disbursal of house damage assistance among the cyclone victims. They also asked the administration to restore school buildings, electricity and drinking water project infrastructure in the district.
Some legislators also asked the administration to launch a plantation drive in Cuttack city and other parts of the district to enhance green cover in the wake of massive destruction caused by cyclone Fani May 3.
