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Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said the state remains highly vulnerable to natural calamities and highlighted coastal and riverbank erosion as major challenges.
Speaking about the recent disaster in Nepal, Pujari told ANI on Saturday that the devastation was a manifestation of nature causing extensive damage to human lives and property. "What we saw in Nepal is the manifestation of nature causing huge damage to human life and property. Odisha, for that matter, is a state very much prone to natural calamities," Pujari said. He said Odisha's 573-kilometre coastline is facing soil erosion, while erosion in rivers connected to the sea has also emerged as a major concern. "The 573 kilometres of coastline in Odisha is eroding soil every now and then. So far as the cyclone is concerned, the soil erosion in different rivers, which are also connected with the sea, has become a major problem in Odisha nowadays," the minister said. Pujari also said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has prepared a preliminary report on adaptive resilience investment in coastal systems and the economics of the blue sea. He said such initiatives would help address the challenges posed by natural calamities and strengthen Odisha's resilience to disasters. Earlier on Saturday, a high-level meeting on the proposed Adaptive Resilience Investment in Coastal Systems on Economics (ARISE) Project was held at Lok Seva Bhwan to deliberate on a comprehensive and long-term strategy for protecting Odisha's coastline, enhancing climate resilience and promoting sustainable economic development in coastal areas. Odisha Minister Pujari, who chaired the meeting, emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to coastal management that combines coastal protection, environmental conservation, livelihood security, biodiversity protection and economic sustainability. He stressed that the ARISE Project should contribute towards strengthening the resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems against the growing impacts of climate change. A preliminary assessment of Odisha's 573-km coastline has been undertaken jointly by the ADB and the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA). (ANI)
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