Cyclone duty comes first for Odisha police officer despite personal loss

BHUBANESWAR: Duty came first for Kalandi Behera, inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Marshaghai police station in Kendrapada district as he carried out pre-cyclone evacuation and post-disaster relief distribution work despite the passing of his mother a few days ago.
His 85-year-old mother Hara Dei died of heart attack at home on May 21 as Odisha was bracing for cyclonic storm Yaas. Immediately after performing the last rites of his mother at his native in Jajpur district, Behera returned to Kendrapada same night and joined duty.
“We had started our preparations to tackle the cyclone around May 20. Marshaghai area had suffered extensive damages during cyclones in the past. I was about to assign another police officer to look after the evacuation exercise in Marshaghai when I saw Behera in my office. He refused to take leave despite his personal loss sand went to the villages to evacuate people to safety. We salute his commitment and sacrifice,” Kendrapada SP, Madkar Sandeep Sampat said.
Behera, who availed leave on Thursday to perform his mother’s post-funeral rites, said his presence was necessary during the evacuation operation. “Despite my personal loss, I chose to save the lives of the villagers. Since they know me, they would not have resisted during the evacuation drive. Normally, people hesitate to leave their homes during calamities. But the villagers cooperated with us and volunteered to go to cyclone shelters,” Behera said.
The IIC along with other staff of his police station helped the Odisha disaster rapid action force (ODRAF) and fire services personnel in removing uprooted trees and electricity poles in Marshaghai area in the wake of the devastation caused by the cyclone on Wednesday. Senior officers at the state police headquarters appreciated Behera’s commitment to service during his difficult times.