Odisha opens 100 new multi-purpose calamity shelter units

Navin Patnaik said the state will have 879 multi-purpose shelter houses by end of this year

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday dedicated 100 multi-purpose shelter houses to the people of Odisha for use during floods and cyclones.

"Our goal is to ensure zero casualty during calamities. The state government is now well prepared to face calamities," Patnaik said after inaugurating the shelter houses built across 17 districts of the state.

The 100 new shelters will add to the state's existing 526 multi-purpose shelter houses, Patnaik said, adding people can take shelter in these places during calamities like floods and cyclones.

The chief minister said more shelter houses are already under construction and the state will have 879 multi-purpose shelter houses by end of this year.

Recalling the huge loss of human lives during the super cyclone in 1999, Patnaik said Odisha was then not at all prepared for the eventuality but is now a model state in the country for its effective disaster management in the past few years.

The new 100 multi-purpose shelter houses are located in Puri, Ganjam, Balasore, Bhadrak and Kenrapara, Malkangiri, Keonjhar and Cuttack, Boudh and Jajpur, besides in Bargarh, Kalahandi, Nayagarh and Subarnapur.