Amid Northeast flood fury, Amit Shah reviews monsoon preparedness

According to an MHA official, Shah also reviewed long-term measures to formulate a comprehensive and far-reaching policy to mitigate the menace of floods in the country. “ The Home Minister appealed to all the States and Union Territories to timely implement the advisories issued by NDMA for flood management. He directed the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Central Water Commission (CWC) to complete the process of recalibrating all the equipment used in flood forecast, at the earliest,” the MHA statement said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Minister of Jal Shakti C R Paatil and Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Sunday. (PTI)

“He also directed to ensure that floodgates of all the major dams are in good condition. Shah said that the CWC flood monitoring centres should be in accordance with our requirements and of international standards,” the statement said. During the meeting, new technologies being adopted by all the agencies and the expansion of their network for flood management were also discussed. Shah also reviewed the preparations to deal with Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). He also emphasized on optimum use of satellite imagery provided by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for flood and water management.

“The Union Home Minister said that the non-perennial rivers are prone to more soil erosion and siltation, resulting in floods. He directed that efforts should be made to upgrade the forecast system of water level of rivers for better flood management,” he said.

“Shah said that a natural drainage system should be an integral part of the designs of road construction to deal with inundation of roads, in case of floods. Shah said that at least 50 large ponds should be constructed in the Northeast so that the water of the Brahmaputra River could be diverted and stored in those ponds. He said that this will help in developing agriculture, irrigation and tourism in those areas at a low cost and also help in tackling the floods, and it will eventually benefit the local economy,” the official said.

According to MHA, Shah directed that the IMD’s alerts regarding lightning strikes should be disseminated among the public on time. He emphasized on the need to integrate weather, rainfall and flood warning related apps.