ODHISHA to SET UP STATE DISASTER MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

BHUBANESWAR, January 21: Encouraged by the praise it received from a Parliament Committee over its successful handling of natural calamities, Odisha government today decided to set up a State Disaster Management Institute (SDMI), officials said. According to the decision taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here, the SDMI will train officials, personnel from industries and people living in vulnerable areas on how to face disasters. The institute will be set up on a 17-acre of land in the campus of Revenue Officials Training Centre at Gothapatna, officials said, adding that the state government will spend Rs 20 crore for building the SDMI and another Rs 10 crore for its management. Personnel of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force and Fire department would be given training in the proposed institute. As a number of industries were being set up in the state, the SDMI will also train their people on how to handle emergency situations. The people around the industries will also be trained keeping in view the possible disasters in their locality, they said. The Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs recently had recommended Odisha's efforts on disaster management as a model for the country. -PTI