Amit Shah reviews flood, heatwave preparedness; calls for ‘zero casualty disaster management’ across India
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting in New Delhi to review the country’s preparedness for floods, heat waves and other climate-related disasters, stressing the need to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Zero Casualty Disaster Management”.
During the meeting, HM Shah directed all states to constitute and activate Flood Crisis Management Teams (FCMTs) to strengthen disaster response mechanisms ahead of the monsoon season. He also called for a comprehensive review of compliance with disaster management guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at the state, district and municipal levels.
Highlighting the growing impact of climate change, the Home Minister said India must adopt a “Whole of Government” and “Whole of Society” approach to deal with changing weather patterns and disaster-related challenges. He emphasised the need for an integrated flood forecasting system at both the Centre and state levels.
HM Shah directed officials to expand plans for developing early warning systems for high-risk glacial lakes in Himalayan regions. He said at least 60 lakes across Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim should be included under the early warning mechanism with support from the NDMA.
The Home Minister also stressed the importance of improving weather preparedness at the grassroots level. He said weather forecasts and warnings should be disseminated more effectively and widely so that local communities can respond promptly to extreme weather conditions.
Focusing on the impact of heat waves on agriculture, HM Shah called for measures to minimise crop losses and urged officials to strengthen weather-related planning for the farming sector. He also directed authorities to study monsoon-related casualties, forecast accuracy and agricultural damage to further improve disaster preparedness.
Emphasising water conservation, HM Shah advocated greater use of water storage structures and check dams to improve groundwater levels and reduce the effects of heat waves. He said the CAMPA Fund should be utilised in a more multidimensional manner to maintain environmental balance and support sustainable ecological measures.
The Home Minister also advised ministries and departments to focus on improving and integrating existing disaster-related apps and digital portals instead of creating multiple new platforms.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that several steps had already been taken under the leadership of PM Modi to strengthen disaster preparedness. These include extending rainfall and flood forecast lead time from three days to seven days by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Central Water Commission (CWC), along with improvements in heat wave forecasting standards.
The meeting was attended by Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil, the Union Home Secretary, senior officials from various ministries, members of the NDMA, officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), IMD, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Central Water Commission and the National Remote Sensing Centre, among others.
(DD News)
