Union Home Minister Amit Shah heads high-level flood preparedness meet
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting to review the government’s preparedness in the wake of recent floods in the Northeast and the approaching monsoons.
Shah instructed the concerned departments to study in detail the recent floods in Sikkim and Manipur and submit a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Shah also suggested that at least 50 large ponds should be constructed in the Northeast.
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.
“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.