Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi has placed the protection of lives at the centre of Odisha’s disaster response, directing an intensified rescue operation to trace 12 people missing after a landslide along the Ganjam-Kandhamal district border.
Acting on the Chief Minister’s directions, the state government has mobilised 170 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and Special Operation Group.
During a high-level review meeting attended by Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari, Majhi called for faster operations, stronger coordination among response agencies and the use of advanced technology to locate people feared trapped beneath soil and debris.
An advanced Seismic Life Detection Unit of the Indian Navy is being airlifted to G. Udayagiri to assist the search teams. The state government has also approached the Railways for a Chain Pulley System to support the safe evacuation of people from difficult terrain.
Majhi made it clear that saving every possible life remained the government’s highest priority. He instructed all departments to provide the rescue teams with the personnel, equipment and logistical assistance required for the mission.
Alongside the rescue operation, the Chief Minister directed officials to restore electricity, roads and essential services in the affected areas without delay.
The administration has also been asked to keep cyclone shelters ready, evacuate residents from vulnerable locations and maintain adequate stocks of food, drinking water and medicines.
The coordinated deployment of specialised personnel, naval detection equipment and evacuation machinery reflects the Majhi government’s focus on a prompt and technology-assisted disaster response.
The Chief Minister has directed officials to remain on high alert and continue the operation with urgency until every missing person is accounted for.