Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday reiterated his govt’s commitment to strengthening Odisha’s disaster preparedness, even as leader of opposition and former CM Naveen Patnaik alleged that the state’s leadership in disaster management was fast eroding. Their remarks came on Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day, observed on Oct 29 to commemorate the 1999 Super Cyclone, which killed more than 10,000 people in the state and became a turning point in Odisha’s approach to disaster management.Majhi said the govt remained committed to strengthening disaster preparedness, enhancing community resilience and ensuring the safety of every citizen. “Through proactive planning, improved early warning systems and coordinated response mechanisms, we are working towards a safer and disaster-resilient Odisha,” Majhi said in a post on X.Naveen, however, struck a cautionary note, saying Odisha had faced nature’s fury with “courage and conviction” since the 1999 Super Cyclone, guided by the principle that every life is precious. He said the state’s zero-casualty model, rooted in preparedness, resilience and community participation, had turned Odisha’s vulnerability into a “global beacon in disaster management”.“The fast erosion of Odisha’s disaster management leadership is a warning we ignore at our own peril,” Naveen said. He cautioned that any dilution of the state’s “hard-won disaster preparedness” could threaten both people’s safety and economic progress.BJD Rajya Sabha member Manas Mangaraj said the 1999 disaster marked a turning point for Odisha. He credited Naveen’s leadership with building a stronger disaster management system and improving early warning, evacuation and preparedness mechanisms, which, he said, earned the state national recognition for its response to subsequent cyclones. “The journey from devastation to resilience reflects years of institutional effort and collective determination,” Mangaraj said.