Odisha, RIMES sign MoU for effective disaster management

Bhubaneswar, June 29 (IANS) The Odisha government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for effective management of disasters, officials said.

The government also signed three more MoUs that would benefit the farmers and enhance their production.

The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) signed an MoU with RIMES for enhancing early warning system for effective management of all kinds of disasters in the state.

This agreement enables for development and pilot implementation of decision support systems for automating risk assessment, advisory generation and dissemination, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

He said this will empower OSDMA in the assessment and management of risks from flood, tsunami, drought, heat wave, lightning and road accidents.

These tools shall be built with open-source software platforms and public domain data sets, with full involvement of OSDMA and its line departments and collaborating agencies.

Initially, the agreement will remain in force for five years with a cost involvement of about Rs 8 crore.

RIMES and OSDMA collaboration will contribute to global efforts targeted to substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems as articulated in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

RIMES-Thailand, is a UN registered international and inter-governmental institution, owned and managed by its 48 members and collaborating states for building capacities in the generation and application of user-relevant early warning information.

Similarly, the agriculture department signed three MoUs to benefit the farmers and enhance their production.

"The MoU on Doubling Farmers' Income in Odisha Intervention intends to assist 2 lakh small and marginal farmers during the next three years in nine districts of Odisha," said the Chief Minister.

For restoring the common land and water bodies through village institutions and federations in all the districts of the state another MoU on the promotion of ecologically sound agricultural practices and water management was signed.

Another MoU was signed to encourage competition among farmers and agricultural workers for making innovations in agriculture and to ease the workload of farmers and reduce the drudgery of women in farming.

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