Odisha fully prepared to face cyclone Yaas: Patnaik tells Shah

Patnaik said this while interacting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah who reviewed the cyclone situation. 

''We are fully prepared and our officers are in touch with officers of the union government. We will get back on requirements,'' the chief minister said to union home minister. 

Taking to twitter, Shah said, ''I have issued instructions for timely evacuation of people living in low lying areas, power backup arrangement in different hospitals and security of oxygen manufacturing plants in the state.'' The Odisha government has already evacuated about one thousand people from the low-lying areas and vulnerable storm-surge pockets in four districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur. 

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said the evacuation process is expected to be comnpleted by Tuesday afternoon. 

Official sources said that nearly 1.5 lakh population will be moved to safer places from the cyclone prone Odisha areas. 

Meanwhile, union minister Dharmendhra Pradhan, who hails from Odisha said, all the ministries of the central government are in readiness to face the challenge of the very severe cyclonic storm Yaas. 

Pradhan earlier had a discussion with the central public sector undertakings and the central agencies operating and asked them to be proactive in facilitating relief and rehabilitation to the affected people. 

He also told them to assist the state government in all possible ways, especially in restoring power and telecommunication lines for dealing with cyclones in an effective manner. 

''I also instructed the officials for greater collaboration in mobilising resources, especially in deploying mobile diesel generators and mobile browsers to provide power backup, uninterrupted supply fo petroleum products and medical oxygen in the cyclone affected areas,'' he said. 

The union petroleum and natural gas minister said that as many as 52 teams of the NDRF have been provided to Odisha for the rescue and relief operation in the state before, during and after the cyclone which is likely to hit the Odisha coast at the wind speed of about 165 kmph, he said.