BJP Government has failed to match Odisha’s Disaster Management legacy under Naveen Patnaik: BJD

Paperman Media । Bhubaneswar, 24 October

The BJP government has completely failed in tackling disasters and providing assistance to affected people over the past 28 months. There is a significant gap between official data and the ground reality. While numerous lives have been lost due to floods and cyclones, delays in relief distribution and the government’s failure to deliver assistance to disaster-affected people have exposed the complete failure of its preparedness and disaster management system, stated the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

In a press statement issued today, Dr. Lenin Mohanty, Media Coordinator of the party, said that Odisha had earned worldwide appreciation for its disaster management during the tenure of Former Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik. The ‘Zero Casualty’ principle was the primary objective of the BJD government, but that objective is now gradually being undermined. The BJP government has completely failed in disaster management. Disaster management should not remain limited to government announcements and meetings. Extensive preparedness before disasters, swift action during emergencies, and the provision of relief, compensation and rehabilitation to affected people afterwards constitute genuine disaster management. Learning from the experience of the devastating Super Cyclone of 1999, Odisha had developed a robust disaster management system under the leadership of Former Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik.

Dr. Mohanty further stated that during the BJD government, hundreds of cyclone shelters were constructed across the State. By taking advance precautions based on weather forecasts and safely evacuating people from vulnerable areas, Odisha had emerged as a role model in disaster management. This model had significantly reduced loss of life during cyclones. Guided by the principle that ‘Every Life Is Precious’, Odisha pursued the goal of ‘Zero Casualty’, which earned recognition as a model both nationally and internationally. This was not merely an administrative achievement but an example of placing the protection of human lives above all else during disasters. The BJP government should immediately take concrete steps to strengthen the disaster management system instead of remaining confined to political propaganda and announcements.