Bhubaneswar: After the devastating landslide at Gidipabali village that claimed at least two lives and left 11 missing, the Odisha government has drawn up a plan to prevent deaths due to landslides by relocating people living on and below vulnerable hills in the State.
Informing this, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said te government has identified hundreds of landslide-prone locations in Kandhamal and Gajapati districts. People living in these high-risk areas will be shifted to safer locations as part of the proposed rehabilitation plan, he added.
The government will develop new settlements and construct houses in villages located on safer land to accommodate the families, the minister said.
A survey has already been initiated to determine the number of people living on hilltops and in areas below the hills that are vulnerable to landslides. The exercise will help the government assess the scale of relocation and rehabilitation required.
Pujari also said that a team of officials had visited northeastern states to study possible solutions to the problem and understand the measures adopted there to deal with landslide risks.
Notably, the landslide has wiped out Gidipabali village, leaving two people dead, while 11 others remained missing. The families of the missing people have conducted their symbolic last rites on Wednesday.