Mangaluru: For the third time, Revenue Minister R Ashoka skipped inaugurating the three-storied cyclone shelter in Hosabettu a week ago.
Officials who had prepared slides to highlight the role of cyclone shelters during cyclones were left disappointed when District In-charge Minister V Sunil Kumar abruptly ended the review meeting on the district’s monsoon preparedness convened a few days ago.
“Elected representatives are yet to realise the importance of a safe shelter for people living in a cyclone vulnerable region,” sources in Dakshina Kannada district disaster management authority (DDMA) and district disaster management committee (DDMC) lamented.
What are cyclone shelters?
Cyclone shelter or Multi-Purpose Cyclone Shelter (MPCS), is a key component in National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Programme (NCRMP), being implemented in 13 cyclone-prone states by World Bank and Centre’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Among the 11 cyclone shelters in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts, three shelters (in Uttara Kannada) are in the final stages of completion. Shelters in Ombatkere (Ullal), Kaup and Thekkate in Udupi district are school-based MPCS.
“When there are no cyclones, the building can be used as classrooms,” sources in Ullal City Municipal Council told reporters.
The only community-based shelter, in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, in Hosabettu, has been entrusted to the Shri Lakshmi Venkatesh Prathana Mandir committee.
The elevated building (to allow tidal water to pass through its base), located about 475 m from the sea shore, was completed at a total cost of Rs 4.25 crore. The building (550.60 sqm) can provide shelter for up to 1,000 people, according to sources in Mangaluru City Corporation.
Shelter challenges
The building is not only cyclone-proof but can also withstand earthquakes, said sources in the PWD.
When a cyclone strikes the coast, the elderly, differently-abled, women and children, identified as primary beneficiaries by the district administration, are evacuated and moved to these safe public shelters in the neighbourhood.
To ensure its regular use, buildings have been entrusted to schools and communities.
To ensure the building is in mint condition, the cyclone shelter committee undertakes periodic maintenance with interest accrued from the building’s Rs 5 lakh corps fund.
DK proposes 12th cyclone shelter
The concept of structurally engineered public cyclone shelter was first implemented in Bangladesh during the 1960s.
The first cycle shelter was built in India in 1977 in the aftermath of a deadly cyclone in Andhra Pradesh. As many as 11 cyclone shelters (11,755.10 sqm) in Karnataka were built at a total cost of Rs 166.49 crore.
The 11 cyclone shelters are in Dakshina Kannada (Ombatkere and Hosabettu), Udupi (Kaup and Thekkate), and Uttara Kannada districts (Chittakula, Amadalli, Pujgeri, Belekeri, Manaki, Manki and Shirali).
DK Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V has submitted a proposal to the government on building the 12th cyclone shelter in Kulai.
Cyclone shelters in Hosabettu, Ombatkere, Chittakula, Amadalli and Pujgeri in CRZ II zones needed CRZ clearance. Cyclone shelter in Ombatkere was used as a quarantine centre during the Covid-19 pandemic.