Hans News Service Bhubaneswar

OdishaChief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday lauded the disaster response teams who safely rescued a pregnant woman from flood-hit Baleshwar district.

The Chief Minister said the State government is always committed to ensuring the safety and essential services of every life during times of crisis. Majhi, who is monitoring the flood situation from Delhi in a social media post, said, “Your safety and service are our utmost priority.

Amid adverse flood conditions, a pregnant woman from Bagirathipur village in Baleshwar district has been safely rescued and reached the hospital on time. The people’s government is always committed to ensuring the safety and essential services of every life during times of crisis.”

The State government said that three deaths have so far been reported in the floods and many people were rescued from difficult situations.

“Every life is precious for the State government, and the administration is working in that direction,” Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari said while rejecting the allegation of Opposition BJD of the State government’s lack of sensitivity towards flood affected people. The BJD came down heavily on the State’s BJP government over the death of three persons in the ongoing floods in north Odisha.

“Valuable lives were lost due to lack of preparedness by the State government. Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s policy of “every life is precious” has become meaningless for the Mohan Charan Majhi government,” alleged BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty. Stating that the BJD government’s “zero casualty” policy was not adopted by the BJP government, leading to human casualties, Mohanty alleged that the administration has become very casual.

“The State government has completely failed in flood management,” he alleged, adding that despite prior warnings issued by the Meteorological department, the State government had made no preparations, resulting in the loss of precious lives.