Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has made necessary arrangements to provide uninterrupted telecom service to the people even as the severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ damages the telecom infrastructure.

This was revealed today by Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Mukesh Mahaling.

“People will enjoy uninterrupted telecommunications service even during the arrival of severe cyclonic storm Dana. We held a meeting with telecom service providers including Jio, Airtel, BSNL and Vodafone,” the minister said.

Telecom companies have agreed to activate Intra Circle Roaming in Odisha to provide uninterrupted telephone service to people during the cyclone, he added.

“The Intra-Circle Roaming facility will be instrumental in providing uninterrupted telecommunications service during the cyclone. Telecommunications operators will share their networks with each other to provide services to the population,” the minister said.

According to the minister, DG posts have been made available in all telecom towers to manage the situation in the event of a power outage. “Telecom towers in Odisha can withstand winds of up to 180 kmph. Telecom companies have kept their technical teams ready to repair any damage caused to the towers by the cyclone,” he said.

Notably, severe cyclonic storm Dana will most likely cross the coasts of northern Odisha and West Bengal between Puri and Sagar Island, near Bhitarkanika and Dhamra, between midnight of October 24 and early morning of October 25.