Cyclone Montha yet to cause major damage: Odisha CM

Bhubaneswar, Oct 28 (IANS) Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday said that the severe cyclonic storm ‘Montha’ has so far not caused any major impact in the Odisha districts expected to be affected by the system.

While briefing the media after visiting the control room of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) at Rajiv Bhawan here on Tuesday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said, “As per reports, it appears that Cyclone Montha has so far not had any major impact in the eight districts that were earlier feared to be affected during its landfall. Except for some areas like Gajapati and Ganjam, which received heavy rainfall of around 115 millimetres today, no other part of the state has reported heavy rain or strong winds.”

He further added that the cyclone is likely to move through Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and other districts of Odisha on Wednesday, and all departments of the state government are fully alert and are working in close coordination to manage the impact of the cyclone, whether the impact is minor or severe.

CM Mjahi also informed that the process of landfall of the severe cyclonic storm Montha on the Andhra coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, around Kakinada, is still on.

However, Malkangiri district, which was earlier expected to suffer the most, has yet to experience any major impact of the severe cyclonic storm.

He further revealed that as many as 17,817 persons from vulnerable areas of the eight districts of the southern part of the state have so far been evacuated to safer places.

Although the government had planned to evacuate more people, if necessary, Chief Minister Majhi said that, given the current impact of the cyclone, further evacuation may not be required.

At least 2,198 pregnant women have been shifted to nearby health centres, while 651 more will be transferred soon, he said.

The Chief Minister said that he had held discussions with the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw regarding the resumption of train services that were cancelled due to the prevailing situation.

He reiterated the state government’s focus on ensuring Zero casualties during Cyclone Montha.

--IANS

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