Bhubaneswar, Sep 19: Union government has released more than Rs 4.7 crore to Odisha under the National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems for nurturing Chilika, India’s largest brackish water lake and Ansupa lake, Odisha’s largest fresh water lagoon, informed Union Petroleum and Natural Gas; Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a tweet today.

In a series of tweets from his verified account, Pradhan said that wetlands are valuable ecosystems that our important for a sustainable future. “In a state like Odisha, which is frequently hit by natural disasters, these wetlands apart from being important from an economic point of view, also act as safeguard against natural calamities,” read another tweet of the Union Minister.

He further said that Central government under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi has been making great strides in conservation, protection and management of our wetlands and rich reservoirs of biodiversity.