BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has set up a state water informatics centre for aggregating, curating and standardising micro-level hydro meteorological data sourced from diverse water sector entities for proper water management and disaster preparedness.
This centre will operate as a centralised repository, facilitating seamless data access, analysis, and sharing with the national water informatics centre. It will actively disseminate water-related intelligence to stakeholders via various channels, including reports, publications, and online platforms.
The Water Resources department will spearhead the operations of the informatics centre, which will benefit from technical guidance and support from the national centre particularly in the realms of data management and information technology infrastructure.
“The state centre will serve as a primary source of comprehensive hydro-meteorological data, encompassing critical parameters such as groundwater levels, surface water availability, water quality metrics and demand-supply dynamics. Its predictive modeling capabilities will also bolster disaster preparedness efforts, particularly through advanced flood forecasting techniques,” said an official of the department. The centre will work in close coordination with the State Hydrological Data Centre (SHDC) at Rajiv Bhawan to streamline data integration efforts along with research and development activities in the field of hydro-meteorology.
Domain experts from various other departments, including Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC), Odisha Space Application Centre (ORSAC), Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, State Pollution Control Board, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, Rural Development and Energy department will help facilitate data sharing and validation.
Meanwhile, chief engineer and director of Ground Water Development cum-nodal officer under the National Hydrology Project (NHP) has been given the additional charge of director of the informatics centre to ensure seamless functioning and collaboration.