While attending the 2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise in Bubhaneswar, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that there is need of improving early warning dissemination system and capacity building for conserving cultural heritage sites.
The Chief Minister said the heritage sites must be preserved for the future generations at any cost. The meet exclusively highlighted on the restoration of heritage sites damaged in natural disasters.
Patnaik said, “It is important to undertake adequate documentation, proper identification and grading of heritage sites.”
“BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries are a great repository of ancient heritage with numerous cultural heritage sites susceptible to various kinds of natural disasters,” he added.
The Chief Minister further stated that BIMSTEC has expanded and diversified the areas of cooperation, especially in the domain of disaster management, over the years.
“Today, Odisha is well ahead of others in preparedness. Odisha was the first state that set up its own dedicated disaster response force in India. We invested in preparedness, forecasting and resource management with an approach of zero-casualty,” said the Chief Minister.
