Govt shifts over 10K people in Balasore for missile test

Balasore: The district administration of Balasore in Odisha has temporarily shifted over 10,000 people from 10 villages to another place ahead of a scheduled missile test on Wednesday.

The DRDO also completed the required range preparation for the missile test at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, defence sources said in Balasore. The test is slated to be conducted from launch pad number 3 of the ITR.

The Balasore district administration has made arrangements to temporarily evacuate 10,581 people belonging to 10 villages residing within 3.5 km radius of the launch pad prior to the test launch of the missile, said a senior official.

“As a safety measure these arrangements have been made with adequate compensation to affected people,” the official said.

A preparatory meeting was held in Balasore on Tuesday by the district administration in the presence of the collector, Ashis Thakare and superintendent of police, Sagarika Nath for the smooth shifting of residents falling in this zone to nearby temporary shelter centers, said the revenue officer.

Through the public address system the district administration has alerted people in these villages to leave their house by 4 am of Wednesday and remain in the camp till an announcement is made to return to their houses after the launch is over.