BHUBANESWAR : The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) will soon establish a unified command and control system (UCCS) in the capital city.
The UCCS, expected to be operational within a year, will integrate the database of key departments with a focus on post disaster management.
“Work to set up the UCCS has already begun and the facility will be operational from OSDMA’s state emergency operations centre. It will have a bottom-up as well as top-down approach,” said executive director of OSDMA Kamal Lochan Mishra. He was speaking at Odisha Vikash Conclave (OVC)’s session on ‘Disaster Preparedness for a Changing Climate’ here on Wednesday.
Mishra said the UCCS will be able to access all the data related to disaster management from various agencies like India Meteorological Department, Water Resources, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Energy departments. Data integration with the UCCS will enable them to swiftly ascertain the extent of the damage and the progress made in terms of restoration in the aftermath of a disaster, he said adding, after the outbreak of Covid-19, the database-centric disaster management played a pivotal role.
Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Manorama Mohanty pointed out that casualties due to the cyclones have reduced significantly in the state over the last several years but noted that lightning deaths still remain a cause of concern. People, especially farmers working in fields, should closely follow the IMD warnings on lightning strikes being sent to them through SMSes to minimise the loss of lives, she said.
Mentor and director of Centre for Development and Disaster Management Support Services (CDDMASS) Nilamadhab Prusty suggested development of insurance-based risk transfer mechanisms for natural disasters.
Earlier, at the inaugural session of the 6th edition of Odisha Vikash Conclave, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja emphasised that the state’s development pathway, amid rising climate risks, changing livelihood patterns and growing social vulnerabilities, must be anchored in partnerships among government, civil society, academia, markets and communities.
Co-founder of Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD), host of the two-day conclave, Jagadananda said, “As climate shocks intensify and livelihoods change rapidly, OVC-2025 places balanced development and climate resilience at the centre of Odisha’s vision for the next decade.”
Discussions will highlight how forests, coasts, wetlands, livelihoods, governance, social protection and technology are deeply interconnected and the need of holistic solutions and a forward-looking energy transition, he added.