OdishaPlus Bureau
A Team of Fire Service personnel comprising 372 members under the charge of Chief Fire Officer Maheswar Swain was deputed to West Bengal on 24th May to undertake restoration work in the aftermath of Super Cyclone “AMPHAN” which caused extensive damage to Kolkata City and its adjoining areas. The teams were equipped with all types of Disaster Response equipment like Power Saws, Tower lights, Combitools, Bolt cutters, Lifelines, etc.
The team was divided into 30 sub-teams having 10 personnel each headed by one Station Officer and deployed in 16 Boroughs in Kolkata city while six teams worked under the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Howrah. The teams cleared all the main roads of Kolkata city within two days including the premises of Police Headquarter, Govt. Hospital and Circuit House removing the fallen trees, electric poles, and disarray cables. In the next two days the teams cleared all sub-ways of Kolkata city.
After 30th May the teams were engaged in removing the trees which had fallen on different buildings/structures and huts. Till date, the teams have cleared 2550 fallen trees and electric poles at 717 places which were obstructing the communication in Kolkata city. Now the city has returned to its normalcy, communication has been restored and cars, buses have started plying. The services rendered by Odisha Fire Service Personnel were highly appreciated by the people.
In recognition to the dedicated services rendered by the Odisha Fire Service personnel for immediate restoration and to bring normalcy in cyclone ravaged cities of West Bengal, Minister, Urban Development, West Bengal, Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Govt. of West Bengal have issued letters of appreciation. Besides, Minister, Urban Development and Mayor of Kolkata and Servants of People Society, West Bengal also felicitated the Odisha Fire Service personnel for their sustained efforts exhibited for restoration work in the aftermath of Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan.
After performing 12 days of arduous work in AMPHAN ravaged Kolkata and Howrah, all 372 Fire personnel returned on 5.6.2019 to Odisha. They were received at Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Institute, Naraj, Cuttack by Dr. Satyajit Mohanty, IPS, DGP, FS, HGs and CD., Odisha, Cuttack and Asheet Kumar Panigrahi, IPS, I.G.of Police, FS, HGs and C.D., Cuttack.
All of them will undergo 14 days institutional quarantine as per Government protocol and will be accommodated in Krupajal Engineering College Campus, Uttara Chhaka, Bhubaneswar, and at Revenue Officers Training Institute, Gothapatana Road, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. During the process, they will also undergo required medical tests for COVID-19. In this connection, Govt. of Odisha will bear the entire expenditure for their accommodation, board, and medical tests, etc.