Chief minister Naveen Patnaik chairs the state-level committee meeting on natural calamities in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, June 9: Good news for Orissa, which had been reeling from severe heat wave conditions till last week. The monsoon is likely to hit the state by this weekend.

The local meteorological department today informed this at the state-level natural calamity committee meeting here.

Director of local meteorological centre Sarat Sahoo said the Orissa government that the conditions were favourable for the onset of monsoon. “The monsoon will reach the state either on June 12 or June 13. While the temperature has gone down, the relative humidity has gone up. There is sporadic rainfall taking place in different parts of Orissa,” said Sahoo.

With the monsoon round the corner, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today chaired the state-level natural calamities committee meeting to take stock of the preparedness of the official machinery to tackle the possible flood situation.

Naveen directed the officials to focus on repair and restoration of embankments, stocking of adequate food materials in vulnerable points, preparing contingency plan for healthcare and water supply, keeping control rooms ready and positioning of boats at strategic locations.

The Orissa government would deploy 412 power boats and nearly 1,500 country boats at the various flood-prone zones, the meeting was informed.

Naveen also asked the officials to sensitise the panchayati raj representatives and the community on disaster preparedness and management.

State disaster management minister Surjya Naryan Patro said: “The state government has identified 406 vulnerable points on the river embankments. Out of these, 28 points are critical. The watch and ward staff will be deployed at these points.”

Patro said the government had set up 10 units of the Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force and deployed them at Cuttack, Chhtrapur, Balangir, Paradip, Rourkela, Baripada and Balasore.

“Last year, the state government had spent Rs 409 crore on disaster management. This year, we have allocated Rs 411 crore for this purpose,” said the minister.

The Orissa government has opened two toll-free number — 1077 and 1070. “People can register their complaints and suggestions on these phone numbers. All the district collectors have also been provided with satellite phones,” said officials.