Odisha Govt signs MoU with NIOT for climate resilient coastal protection measures

Bhubaneswar: The increase in sea erosion and high tidal surges due to storms in the coastal region of Odisha has been making the lives of people residing in the area tough and challenging.

Many villages in the coastal districts have been swallowed by the sea and many are at the risk. In order to deal with the situation, the Odisha government are taking various measures to protect Odisha coasts.

The government has planned to take up climate resilient coastal protection measures, raising and strengthening of saline embankments using latest technology available in the country as a permanent and sustainable solution.

With an aim to decrease sea erosion and tidal surge in the coastal regions, the Odisha government in June 2021 announced to construct a 380 km long special sea embankment using stone packing with wire mesh and mangrove plantation drive in the ten districts of the state.

The Department of Water Resources has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai on August 9 to take up steps to protect coastal lines of Odisha.

Minister for Water Resources Department Tukuni Sahu said that the as Odisha is vulnerable to flood and cyclones and the State Government is taking all possible measures for disaster mitigation and focusing on zero casualties.

In next 5 years steps will be taken to save the life and property of people of coastal areas with protection of sea embankments, she added.

National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) will provide the technical guidance, design and drawing of climate resilient coastal protection measures. It will also work for saline embankments, assisting the supervision, training and capacity building of engineers.

The inhabitants of six coastal districts of Odisha such as Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam will be benefitted.

National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai (NIOT) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India is a premier Institute in the country specializing in the field of Ocean Engineering and Coast-line protection.