Bhubaneswar: The state government on Wednesday decided to form a crisis group to deal with unforeseen and unwarranted situations caused by natural disasters.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.

After the meeting, special relief commissioner Bishnu Prasad Sethi said: "We will go for enhancement of the capacity building of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority. At present, we have 10 of the authority units, and we will add another 10 units to the existing strength."

In order to counter chemical disasters caused by leak of poisonous gas from the factory, the state government has asked the authority to work along with the directorate of factories and boilers to chalk out a detailed plan to this effect.

"We need to work out on this as a number of industrial units have come up in the state, including those in the petrochemical investment regions. If we don't take up any plan and if any unforeseen situation like the Bhopal gas tragedy takes place, it would be tough for the state to handle the situation," said a senior official.

The state government also decided to install rain gauges in all the panchayats to get right feedback about rainfall, for it will help at the time of drought and prolonged dry spells.

To enhance the state's capability for proper management of any kind of drought situation, the state government on Wednesday approved a budget of Rs 192 crore.

It has also decided to install lightning arresters in the 316 cyclone centres of the state in the first phase. At present, 814 cyclone centres are functioning in the state. "We will also set up 340 automatic weather stations in the state. The tender process has already begun," said Sethi.