Bhubaneswar: While people of all hues paid tributes to the victims of the devastating super cyclone on Thursday, the state government was busy putting in place hi-fi mechanisms to combat the recurrence of such high-voltage natural disasters in future.
On the occasion of 10th anniversary of the 1999 super cyclone, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated HAM (amateur) radio station and stressed on the use of technology to help reduce damages caused by natural calamities. “We have taken steps for preparedness so that during the time of calamities, we remain prepared as best as possible to look after the people of our state and minimize the loss of human lives,” Naveen said.

The HAM radio is connected with 21 radio stations in calamity-prone areas in the state which can play a crucial role in establishing communication at a time when all the other modes of communication fail during natural calamities, like flood and cyclone.

The super cyclone of 1999 was certainly one of the worst disasters in recent history, Naveen said and claimed that better communication infrastructure was now in place. While there was only one satellite phone with the state government during the 1999 super cyclone that killed at least 9885 people, now all district headquarters are equipped with it. “Apart from police VHF network, we have a dedicated civil wireless network system connecting 414 locations, including district headquarters with blocks and disaster-prone gram panchayats,” he said adding 21 HAM radio stations have been set up in vulnerable areas. Apart from this, facility for timely weather forecast and obtaining data about impending calamities through upgraded satellites was also inaugurated.

The government informed that 203 multi-cyclone rehabilitation centers have been established and additional 22 cyclone and 50 flood rehabilitation centers would be set up soon. While five Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) units exist at present, additional five units would soon be constituted and 220 automated weather stations and four Doppler radars will be established in the state. “At present both ODRAF and fire units have been equipped with modernised instruments and gadgets to carry out relief and rescue operations during any kind of disasters,” Nikunja Kishore Sundaray, the special relief commissioner informed.
A disaster risk reduction programme with the help of UNDP is on in the state. Under the UNDP-assisted Disaster Risk Management (DRM) programme, Village Disaster Management Plans have been prepared in more than 23,000 villages in 16 districts.

Sourced From Orrisatv.com : http://www.orissatv.com/NewsDetail.asp?newsId=NS11908

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