Bhubaneswar, July 16 -- Odisha has decided to constitute village-level volunteer task forces in 3,000 non-cyclone shelters across the state to strengthen community-based disaster management and enhance preparedness at the grassroots level.
The decision was taken at the first meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC) for 2026-27, constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and chaired by Chief Secretary Anu Garg.
Official sources said on Thursday that the volunteer task forces would receive specialised training in early warning dissemination, search and rescue, first aid, shelter management, water and sanitation, relief distribution, and psychosocial support to improve the state's disaster response capacity.
Chairing the mee...