Sambalpur: On Wednesday, Odisha’s Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated the State’s third Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) in Sambalpur, emphasizing the importance of improving disaster preparedness and reducing the impact of natural disasters. He also revealed plans to establish three more radars along the coastline.
The inauguration event saw the participation of Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, as well as IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra and State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, among others, via virtual participation. Majhi noted that this new radar would extend weather services to 13 districts and reach areas in neighboring Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
This facility in Sambalpur is the third of its kind in the State, following installations in Paradip and Gopalpur. The Chief Minister announced that additional radars would be set up in Bhubaneswar, Baleshwar, and Paradip. The Sambalpur radar is capable of delivering precise weather data within a 250 km radius and can track weather systems up to 450 km away. The 13 districts that will benefit from this radar include Sambalpur, Baragada, Jharsuguda, Sundaragada, Debagada, Subarnapur, Balangir, Boudh, Nuapada, Anugola, Kalahandi, Kendujhar, and Dhenkanal.
Majhi highlighted that this radar would provide significant advantages to farmers in the Mahanadi river basin, particularly those in Baragada, often referred to as Odisha’s
