Citing the controversy erupted over the warning of the Cyclone Ockhi that left a trail of devastation on the coastal region in Kerala, the Union Minister of State for Tourism Alphonse Kannanthanam has called for ensuring the efficacy of the existing technologies used for forecasting such disasters.

He was speaking at the second international symposium of the Societal Applications in Fisheries and Aquaculture using Remote Sensing Imagery (SAFARI) organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute here on Tuesday.

The Cyclone Ockhi has taken many lives in the coastal region. What is more disturbing is we are still unknown the accurate number of people who lost their lives owing to the disaster. A retrospection is required to understand what has actually happened with the cyclone warning. The scientists and the authorities concerned must seriously look into these things. It is need of the hour to develop adequate technologies to mitigate such disasters. Scientists working in the area should ensure the efficacy of the existing technologies, reliability of the data and models to predict such disasters. Satellite and remote sensing data could be used to improve the system, he added.

The minister called upon scientists to focus on community-oriented research works. The studies in the area of fisheries and marine sector should be helpful to upgrade the socio-economic status of the fisherfolks, Kannanthanam said.

The minister also said that satellite and remote sensing data would be made use of developing the eco-tourism in the country.

Discussions were held at the symposium on Tuesday on areas such as aquatic environment and ecology; harvest fisheries; fisheries management; socio-economics, communication technologies in disaster management; and aquaculture.

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