Paradip, Nov. 21: The state's decade-long wait for Doppler weather radar finally ended after the technology was commissioned today in the port town.
The need for an advance weather forecast mechanism in the state was felt for a long time and the commissioning of the Doppler weather radar would go a long way in issuing foolproof weather alerts.
The radar will generate perfect weather data, especially advance information regarding cyclones, storms, excessive rainfall, thunderstorm, hailstorm and cloudburst, said Prime Minister's additional private secretary P.K. Mishra, who commissioned the project.
The Paradip radar project is worth Rs 29 crore. The Indian Meteorological department's officials said that though the project had been initiated in 2005, its commissioning got delayed on technical grounds.
The Doppler radar's installation is of paramount importance as the region has a history of natural calamities, including cyclones, storms and tidal surge.
The meteorology station in Paradip had earlier been equipped with a less-improvised analogous radar system. Its advance weather warning parameters was considerably lower compared to the latest weather forecast technology.
"Earlier, the Paradip weather warning station had been entirely dependent on the analogous radar. Besides, the advance weather and cyclone-warning signal generated from it was not always accurate. It is defunct now. That's why, we were dependent on the weathermen at Vishakhapatnam and Calcutta for forecast update," said director of the state's Met department Sarat Sahu.
"Weather storm, low pressure and cyclone prediction often went haywire in the recent years. Fishermen, particularly those engaged in hazardous sea fishing, used to face difficulties due to erratic weather warning being issued by the station from time to time," said Odisha Trawl Operators' Association president Sumant Biswal.
Moreover, another radar is expected to be installed shortly at Gopalpur in Ganjam district. The building, which would house the technology, has already been built. The Doppler radar was earlier scheduled to be installed at the beach town by March. It was rescheduled to June and then to July. But now, there is no concrete deadline.
Assistant meteorologist in charge of the Gopalpur meteorology office Laxmidhar Mahapatra said it was getting delayed primarily due to lack of infrastructure.
"I cannot exactly predict when the Doppler radar would be operational, but we expect it by December," he said.
There are also proposals for similar Doppler weather radar projects in Sambalpur and Balasore and the central government is actively considering them, said director-general of Indian Meteorological department L.S. Rathore.
Chief secretary Gokul Chandra Pati also spoke on the occasion.
