Orissa to set up 480 cyclone shelters along coast

Faced with frequent cyclones and floods, Orissa government on Wednesday decided to set up at least 480 multi-purpose cyclone shelters along its coastline besides four doppler radar stations in the state.

Faced with frequent cyclones and floods, Orissa government on Wednesday decided to set up at least 480 multi-purpose cyclone shelters along its coastline besides four doppler radar stations in the state.

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The cyclone shelters could help in housing the affected people in the event of natural calamities, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister S N Patro said.

As per the plan, there will be one such shelter in every km space along state’s 480-km long coast line.

Of the target of 480 shelters, the government had already taken up 203 projects of which works on 189 were over. Fourteen other centres were under construction, he said.

The state government for the first time realised the requirement of a large number of shelter homes after the super cyclone in 1999 which left over 6,000 people dead and lakhs homeless.

While cyclone shelter homes would be used to house people during calamities, they would be used as schools on other times, Patro said.

Having a cyclone shelter in each kilometer would help in rescue and relief operations besides saving lives of human beings, he said.

The four doppler radar stations would be established at Paradip, Gopalpur, Balasore and Sambalpur, he said.

While the state government would provide land and building, the Centre would provide radars, he said.