Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday felicitated volunteers and personnel of institutions for their support in the aftermath of the Balasore train disaster, and said the state government needs to boost the capacity of response teams to deal with such unpredictable disasters.

Among those felicitate were personnel of ODRAF, NDRF, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, Fire & Emergency Services as well as the Collector of Balasore.

“We need to enhance the capacities of our response teams and community volunteers to respond to such unpredictable disasters in a better manner. We require to be in a constant state of preparedness," the chief minister said.

“The emergence of human values and compassion just after the incident has re-established our trust in the conscience of our society,” he said.

As many as 293 people were killed and over 1,200 injured in the triple train collision near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district on June 2.

Patnaik, during another function, presented the ‘Suraj’ award to family members of those who donated organs, on the occasion of World Organ Donation Day.?

The award carries a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh.

-With PTI Input