Paradip/Berhampur: Villagers of Odisha's coastal districts, particularly in Jagatsinghpur and Ganjam, on Friday woke up to the blaring shriek of a siren with the sounding of Tsunami warning through public announcement system. However, they heaved a sigh of relief after coming to know that it was a mock exercise by authorities to rev up the disaster preparedness.
Even villagers in Prasannapur in the cyclone-prone coastal pocket of Kendrapara district rose to the occasion to actively take part in the drill, said Rajnagar tehsildar Khirod Kumar Behera.
The local people took keen interest in the evacuation drills. This exercise aims to assess and improve the preparedness, response mechanism and co-ordination among various agencies, he said.
The Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) conducted the drill along with the district administration and various other government and non-government agencies.
Women and children also came forward to take part in the drill in seaside Dhinkia village of Jagatsinghpur district. They asked many questions regarding disaster preparedness to the drill trainers, said revenue inspector, Dhinkia circle, Alekh Behera.
"Volunteers herded the villagers to the cyclone-warning shelters. The villagers had a practical experience of what to do and what not to during natural disasters," said Nuagaon gram panchayat sarpanch Bidyadhar Mallik.
"We are always afraid cyclones, tsunamis and floods. So, we always voluntarily move to safer places every time a warning is sounded. The drill was also a learning experience for us to tide over crisis," said Ranjan Bardhan.
In Ganjam, the drill was conducted in 44 villages under four blocks including Ganjam, Chatrapur, Chikiti and Rangeilunda.
"The drill started at 9.30am and lasted up to 1.30pm. The National Disaster Response Force, the OSDMA, the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and fire service personnel took part in the drill," said Ganjam district emergency officer Pragyan Paramita Chatoi.
"The response of the villagers and the social activists was good and we taught them many techniques to be used during emergency," said fire officer of Chatrapur S.C. Pradhan.#
