Orissa first in country to implement Climate Change Action plan: CM
Bhubaneswar: The state government has developed a Real Time Flood Forecasting Model (RTFFM) for the entire Mahanadi river basin.
“This model will help us in accomplishing better flood control and its management through early warning systems in the Mahanadi basin which has special relevance and greater significance in the context of climate change,” said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at a function held here Wednesday.
The model is supported by the State Climate Change Innovation programme, Patnaik said, adding that Orissa is vulnerable to multiple types of disasters due to its topography, river networks, sub-tropical littoral location.
Stating that the state was first in the country to implement Climate Change Action plan, Patnaik said the Water Resources department should continue to work on improving the efficiency of the model and train its staff in a better way so that its outcome can be utilised in planning and support system.
Patnaik also thanked the Department for International Development (DFID) for providing full support to the state for developing RTFFM.
Chief Secretary A P Padhi Tuesday night announced the setting up of the State Drought Monitoring Centre (SDMC), which will operate at Orissa State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) office here. The SDMC will help accomplish flawless assessment and management of drought situation in the State.
An expert committee under the chairmanship of OSDMA Managing Director P K Mohapatra has been formed for the purpose. Weather experts, hydrologists, agriculture scientists, soil experts are members of the committee.
On the functioning of the SDMC, the OSDMA MD said the state government had signed an agreement with Karnataka State Disaster Management Centre for technical support on monitoring drought in Orissa.
As per the plan, data on weather condition, rainfall and humidity of soil at field level would be recorded every week throughout the year. Weekly report on the condition of paddy fields would also be collected, Mohapatra said.
This apart, damage caused due to drought would be assessed after analysing these reports, Mohapatra said adding that telemetric automated odometers will be installed at several locations across the state.
Once this system is implemented, there would be qualitative improvement in drought assessment, assistance to farmers, crop insurance and drought management, Mohapatra added.
PNN/Agencies