HT Digital,
Guwahati, April 29: Dr. Ravi Kota, the Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam, presided over a high-level meeting today to evaluate the state’s readiness for the impending rainy season and possible floods.
The meeting, held at the Chief Secretary’s conference room, involved discussions on various aspects of flood management, and district commissioners participated through video conferencing.
Principal Secretary Gyanendra Dev Tripathi provided an update on the state’s flood preparedness, with a focus on the allocation of funds and resources for the fiscal year 2024-25 under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
A presentation by Civic Data Lab (CDL) was also made on Intelligent Data Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDS-DRR), with an emphasis on flood resilience measures. Dr. Kota suggested the potential use of aggregated data to improve disaster response in addition to flood readiness.
Several decisions were made in the meeting regarding flood response during the flood season. These included delegating power to the DCs for administrative approval and sanction for minor works due to flood damage, the IMD’s updated forecast for the state by the end of May, ongoing schemes in Majuli by the Brahmaputra Board, PWD’s request to consider repairing and restoration works of roads under different financial windows, NHIDCL’s status report on ongoing works in Dima Hasao district, and a request to the Government of India for allocation of 20,000 MT OMSS rice to Assam by the Food & Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department.
