New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday took stock of the long-term measures for formulation of a comprehensive and overarching policy to mitigate the perennial flood problems in the country.
At a high-level review meeting, he also directed officials to continue to strengthen coordination between the central and state agencies to have a permanent system for forecasting of floods and rise in water levels in major catchment areas of the country, a home ministry statement said.
Shah also reviewed the preparedness of measures to deal with flood situation in the country.
He reviewed the long-term measures for formulation of a comprehensive and overarching policy to mitigate the perennial flood problems of the country, the statement said.
In the meeting, a number decisions were taken to have a new system of co-ordination between the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Jal Shakti Ministry, Central Water Commission (CWC) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Shah advised the Jal Shakti Ministry to work out a mechanism for desilting of large dams, which will help in increasing dam storage capacity and help in flood control.
He also advised specialised institutions like the IMD and the CWC to use state-of-the-art technology and satellite data for more accurate weather and flood predictions.
Shah directed the formation of an SOP immediately to broadcast IMD warnings on lightning strikes to the public at the earliest through TV, FM Radio, SMS and other mediums, the statement said.
He directed forgiving maximum publicity to various mobile apps related to weather forecasting like ‘Umang’, ‘Rain Alarm’ and ‘Damini’, developed by the IMD, so that their benefits reach the targeted population.
The Damini app triggers warning about lightning strikes three hours in advance which can help reduce losses to life and property.
The home minister advised that studies should be conducted through satellite application on the increasing strains on our river systems.
He underlined that while being sensitive to rivers, everyone should also take care about water flow of the rivers.
He directed the CWC, the IMD and the NDRF to continuously monitor the water level and flood situation in rivers and send regular reports to the home ministry.
He also directed the DG NDRF to immediately hold meetings with the heads of the SDRF in flood prone states.
Complying with the directions given by Shah during the flood review meeting held on July 3, 2020, the CWC has started to issue five-day advance inflow forecast for all the reservoirs in the country.
Shah also directed the Jal Shakti Ministry and the CWC to further set up an empowered group of experts for providing practical guidance to dam authorities for taking timely and advance action for release of water and in order to further reduce flooding and minimise loss to property and lives.
The Director General of the IMD and the Chairman of the CWC made presentations and informed about the action taken on the directions given by home minister in the flood review meeting held last year.
They apprised about the improvement in weather and flood forecasting techniques, initiative to update rule curves of dams in India.
A large area in India is prone to flood in which Ganga and the Brahmaputra are main flood basins and Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are most flood prone states.
The decisions taken in the meeting will go a long way to mitigate the sufferings of the lakhs of people in the country who have to face the fury of floods in terms of damage to their crops, property, livelihood and precious lives, the statement said.
The meeting was also attended by union minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, minister of state for home Nityanand Rai among others.