Bhubaneswar: As part of measures to enhance disaster preparedness and response, the Odisha government is set to adopt advanced technologies for accurate forecast of weather.
This was revealed at a high-level meeting held in Bhubaneswar on Thursday to review the recent flood situation in the state. In view of changing weather patterns and climate change, the state government is committed to strengthening disaster management infrastructure by adopting state-of-the-art technologies, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said.
The state government will modernise all the 122 Early Warning Towers installed along Odisha’s 573-km coastline. These towers will be modernised with the installation of 360-degree surveillance cameras.
The state government has also initiated measures to enhance the capabilities of these towers through satellite telecommunication systems and strengthen communication across all 314 Blocks by integrating modern high-speed communication technologies with the central control room, added the Minister.
Senior officials of the state government have visited Goa and Kerala to study their advanced early warning systems and best practices, Pujari revealed.
“The Doppler Weather Radar at Sambalpur has already become operational, while the proposed radars at Baleshwar and Bhubaneswar will be commissioned shortly. Repair and upgradation of the existing Doppler Weather Radars at Gopalpur and Paradip are also underway. In addition, a new Doppler Weather Radar will be established at Puri,” the Minister said.
Once all these Doppler Weather Radars become fully operational, weather forecasting in Odisha will become significantly more accurate and precise, thereby considerably strengthening the state’s disaster preparedness and response mechanism, he said.
On lightning-related fatalities, Pujari informed that the state government has sanctioned Rs 35 crore to the Forest Department for plantation of palm trees in agricultural fields as part of its strategy to reduce lightning-related deaths.
The meeting also discussed the adoption of advanced technologies to address urban waterlogging caused by heavy rainfall. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has already initiated work in collaboration with IIT Roorkee for this purpose, said the Minister.