Cyclone or Super Cyclone: Pradeep Jena leads from the Front

Senior IPS Arun Bothra recalls Pradeep Jena's efforts in Super Cyclone Management in 1999

TNI Bureau: When it comes Disaster Management, Odisha Government and CM Naveen Patnaik are hailed across the globe for their meticulous planning to mitigate the effect. They deserve that rightfully. And, there is one man, an unsung hero, who is silently working round the clock without taking any credit.

It’s Additional Chief Secretary and Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena, who had recovered from Covid-19 just a few days before the Cyclone Yaas. That did not deter him from leading from the front and ensuring massive evacuation and planning to deal with any eventuality.

The night before the landfall of Cyclone Yaas, Pradeep Jena did not sleep for a moment and so were many other officials including the District Collectors. He kept updating everyone on Twitter. Jena, one of the few Bureaucrats in Odisha, who are highly active on Social Media while planning and monitoring the situation in the ground too.

Senior IPS Arun Bothra took to Twitter on May 26 to recall Pradeep Jena’s efforts in 1999 Super Cyclone. At that time, Pradeep Jena was the Collector of Cuttack and Bothra was the ASP. Bothra wrote how Jena was working from the office at 2 AM a few days after the devastating Super Cyclone, which surprised then CM Giridhar Gamang.

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Pradeep Jena politely thanked Arun Bothra and everyone else who appreciate him for the good work. “Thank you so much reminding me the incident. Thank you friends for ur generous comments. I don’t know if I deserve so much. I’m a public servant getting my salary from public taxes. Trying to do something for my state, my people. Many officers hv also contributed to Odisha’s Dev”, he tweeted.

Pradeep Jena also recalled how IPS Arun Bothra and IAS Vishal Dev who played a crucial role in his Super Cyclone management.

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