State gets HAM radio network

BHUBANESWAR: HAM radio communication network was today launched across the State by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.At a meeting organised here to mark the 10th year of the super cyclone, the Chief Minister said 21 HAM radio stations had been set up in vulnerable areas of the State.Naveen said that five more units of the Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) are being set up at Bhubaneswar, Paradip, Baripada, Rourkela and Balangir this year. The State now has five ODRAF units.Besides, the State Government has provided land to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for setting up Doppler radars which will be in place shortly at Paradip, Gopalpur, Balasore and Sambalpur. This will further strengthen the capability for accurate weather prediction within a radius of 400 km.Apart from the police VHF network, the State has a civil network system connecting 414 locations including district headquarters with blocks and disaster- prone gram panchayats. All district headquarters are equipped with satellite phones. During the last 10 years, the State Government has constructed 203 multi-purpose cyclone shelters and more than 10,000 school buildings, which can be used as shelters during calamities, Naveen said and added that 22 more cyclone shelters and 50 flood shelters in cyclone and flood- prone areas are under construction.T he Orissa State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) is setting up 220 automated weather stations in various parts of the State in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad. The automated weather station is a solar powered system which will record data on a variety of weather parameters like rainfall, temperature, wind direction, wind speed and air pressure. There is a provision of built-in transmitter in the automated weather station to send the data to the hub via satellite and from the hub to different nodes. This will improve the State’s preparedness for impending disasters, he said. The Chief Minister felicitated several organisations and individuals for the help rendered by them to the distressed people during natural calamities. Those include the Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society, the Red Cross and Satyasai Trust. Executive director of ORMAS BN Das received the felicitation from Naveen.Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management Surjya Narayan Patro and senior officials attended the meeting.