<p>With the tropical cyclone Fani advancing towards the Odisha coast, the state government has decided to evacuate people over the next two days, moving them from villages along the coast to safer places, including cyclone shelters.</p>.<p>The cyclone is expected to cross the state’s coastline near Puri on May 3.</p>.<p>“The 889 cyclone centres have already made functional to shelter the evacuated people. The district collectors have been directed to store essentials like food and water in all the centres”, the state’s special relief commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi said on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The evacuation is planned mostly from the five coastal districts of Puri, Ganjam, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Khurda.</p>.<p>However, the state government has issued high alert in fourteen districts in coastal, northern and southern regions of the state. The districts are – Puri, Jagatsinghur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam, Gajapati, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal and Angul.</p>.<p>The state capital, Bhubaneswar, is part of the coastal Khurda district. </p>.<p>Apart from cyclone centres, arrangements are also being made to house people in schools and anganwadi centres. The leave of all government staff has been cancelled in all the alerted districts.</p>.<p>Chief Secretary A P Padhi told reporters that he had requested the Centre to station two helicopters in the state for help. “We have also requested the Centre to send additional unit of NDRF to the state”, he said. </p>
<p>With the tropical cyclone Fani advancing towards the Odisha coast, the state government has decided to evacuate people over the next two days, moving them from villages along the coast to safer places, including cyclone shelters.</p>.<p>The cyclone is expected to cross the state’s coastline near Puri on May 3.</p>.<p>“The 889 cyclone centres have already made functional to shelter the evacuated people. The district collectors have been directed to store essentials like food and water in all the centres”, the state’s special relief commissioner (SRC) Bishnupada Sethi said on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The evacuation is planned mostly from the five coastal districts of Puri, Ganjam, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Khurda.</p>.<p>However, the state government has issued high alert in fourteen districts in coastal, northern and southern regions of the state. The districts are – Puri, Jagatsinghur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam, Gajapati, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal and Angul.</p>.<p>The state capital, Bhubaneswar, is part of the coastal Khurda district. </p>.<p>Apart from cyclone centres, arrangements are also being made to house people in schools and anganwadi centres. The leave of all government staff has been cancelled in all the alerted districts.</p>.<p>Chief Secretary A P Padhi told reporters that he had requested the Centre to station two helicopters in the state for help. “We have also requested the Centre to send additional unit of NDRF to the state”, he said. </p>
