Bhubaneswar: BJD President and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik on Thursday urged everyone to join hands and collaborate in a positive way to save the Mother Earth.
“Time is running out. We can no longer afford to wait and watch. It’s high time for us to act. Urge everyone to join hands and collaborate in a positive way to save the Mother Earth”, Naveen said while speaking at the ‘Punasch Pruthibi’ programme organised by Sambad Group.
The BJD President said, “When, I assumed the office of the Chief Minister of Odisha, the biggest challenge was cyclone reconstruction and to build a Resilient Odisha. The 1999 Super Cyclone had left a trail of destruction across the coastal Odisha including the state capital. Huge loss of life and property had shaken the entire country”.
For the first time in the country, a Disaster Management Authority was created. Hundreds of cyclone and flood shelters were constructed and strengthening of embankments and massive plantation was taken up. Community participation was encouraged with a moto of Zero Casualty, he stated.
“Despite being prone to natural calamities, our initiatives started yielding results in tackling floods and cyclones like Phailin,HudHud and Fani. Loss of life was reduced to great extent and Odisha became model in disaster management. Even the United Nations recognised our endeavours of successful disaster management”, the LoP said.
Naveen said, “My Govt had been very sensitive to climate related issues and had taken a number of mitigation measures. Odisha’s forest cover increased from 47,033 square kilometres in 1999 to 52,150 square kilometres in 2021 and the increase is above the national average. Mangrove cover, which is very critical from the climate change perspective has also increased between 1999 to 2021”.
Odisha is the first state to have an action plan for climate change in 2010 and the climate change budget is being implemented in the state since 2019. In order to underscore the emphasis on climate change, the nomenclature of Forest and Environment Dept has been changed to Forest Environment and Climate Change Dept in 2021, he added.