Bhubaneswar: Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty Wednesday felicitated six units of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) which worked with the twin city police after cyclone Fani.
Mohanty hailed the efforts of ODRAF personnel from the OSAP First Battalion, Dhenkanal, the OSAP Second Battalion, Jharsuguda, Fourth IR Battalion, Deogarh, OSAP Seventh Battalion, Bhubaneswar, ODRAF Balasore district and First IR Battalion, Koraput, for their services after the cyclone.
Odisha has been hit by severe cyclones many times in the last few decades. After the Super Cyclone of 1999 the government implemented effective measures to minimise loss of life and restore damaged infrastructure.
Around 45,000 volunteers, 2,000 emergency workers, 1,00,000 officials, youth clubs and organisations like the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) teamed up this time to evacuate 1.2 million people.
The state government has deployed 544 teams in six coastal districts to speed up post-Fani reconstruction.
The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has deployed 237 teams including seven units of the ODRAF and 20 units of NDRF, 90 Fire Service teams and 120 teams of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) in Bhubaneswar.
Around 177 teams, including nine units of ODRAF and 20 units of NDRF, 58 Fire Service teams and 90 teams of OFDC have been deployed in Puri district.
