Congress leader Navajyoti Patnaik Friday urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to set up a research centre in Balasore district for assessing the impact of climate change in coastal Odisha.
In a letter to Pradhan, Patnaik highlighted that the frequency of cyclones had gone up substantially, causing havoc in the coastal districts that were home to two-thirds of the state's population.
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Patnaik underlined that there was a greater need for analysing location-specific information of vulnerability to natural disasters, designing better strategies to cope with them and developing community resilience.
He proposed the setting up of a Coastal Resilience Research Centre (CRRC) at the Fakir Mohan University, Balasore.
The district and the peripheral area, which have been ideal destinations for the landfall of tropical cyclones, can be utilised for cyclonic trajectory studies and subsequent analysis of comprehensive coastal resource management, he added.
The CRRC can be expected to carry out a state-of-the-art study on accurate prediction of multi-hazard, hydro-meteorological disasters and support research in capacity building, according to Patnaik.
It will embody a multi-disciplinary approach to research and planning that can help in building a long-term sustainable response to climate change and its impact on the coastal ecosystem of Odisha, he said.
I believe CRRC's research and education will help the people of Odisha combat natural disasters such as cyclones & floods, and the effects of future climate changes, Patnaik also tweeted.
Patnaik, the son of OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Balasore in 2019.