Scientists and researchers working on climate change and analyzing natural disasters must step forward to guide policymakers as to how to tackle such issues and chalk out a plan for the future, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Sunday.
“People are concerned about climate change and scientists and researchers need to contribute by advising policy makers as to what needs to be done,” he said, while addressing the inaugural function of the four-day National Symposium on Tropical Meteorology (TROPMET-2016) here.
The symposium organised by the Indian Meteorological Society (IMS) in collaboration with the SOA University, the Odisha Government and the Ministry of Earth Sciences attracted scientists, environmentalists and experts from within the country and abroad.
Pradhan said there were plans to lay a highway along the Odisha coast up to Andhra Pradesh, construct more ports and create tourism facilities, but it was for the environmental scientists to advise the policy makers as to what should be done. Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Pradeep Panigrahy, Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary M Rajeevan, IMS President Prof Ajit Tyagi, Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary R Balakrishnan, Director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar Dr SC Sahu, Chairman of the Advisory Board of SOA University Prof Damodar Acharya and Secretary of IMS Anand Sharma addressed the meeting. Dr Panigrahy said the Odisha government had been playing a proactive role in disaster mitigation and dealing with weather hazards. “But these initiatives are short term. What we need is long term solutions to such problems from scientists,” he opined.
Pointing out that Odisha was vulnerable to natural disasters, Dr Rajeevan said the Central Government had taken a decision to set up two more doppler radars in the State at Sambalpur and Baleswar within the next two years.
Balakrishnan called for increased synergy between those responsible for prediction of weather conditions and those working for mitigation and intervention. The predictions of the IMD, with the development of technology, had become more accurate now, he said.