OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: A high-level delegation from NITI Aayog visited Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday to assess the damage caused by the recent floods and hold discussions with the state government on strengthening disaster resilience, as the monsoon situation remained critical with fresh floods and landslides reported from several districts.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu received the delegation, led by NITI Aayog member Dr Joram Aniya, along with National Disaster Management Authority member Rita Missal and senior officials from NITI Aayog, the NDMA and the Central Water Commission. The meeting focused on enhancing disaster preparedness and advancing the state's development priorities in view of recurring natural calamities. Khandu thanked the visiting team for undertaking a ground-level assessment, saying such visits would help policymakers better understand the challenges faced by the people and formulate support measures suited to Arunachal Pradesh's geographical and climatic conditions. He stressed that disaster management in the frontier state required solutions tailored to its unique terrain rather than a uniform approach.
The visit came as fresh incidents of floods and landslides were reported from East Kameng, Upper Subansiri, Upper Siang, Kamle and Kra Daadi districts during the previous 24 hours. East Kameng recorded four flood incidents, three landslides and one heavy rainfall event, while Upper Subansiri reported a flash flood. Upper Siang witnessed 16 landslides, Kamle reported five heavy rainfall incidents and Kra Daadi recorded two flood incidents.
Several villages and localities across the affected districts sustained damage to houses, roads, bridges, irrigation channels, retaining walls and flood protection structures. In East Kameng alone, 640 people were affected during the period, while Kamle reported 53 affected residents.
According to official reports, the cumulative number of people affected by the ongoing floods and landslides rose to 1,03,860. Upper Siang remained the worst-hit district with 49,259 affected people, followed by Siang, Kra Daadi, East Kameng, Upper Subansiri and Namsai.
The monsoon disaster has so far claimed seven lives and left 29 others injured across the state. A total of 804 houses, including kutcha and pucca structures, huts and other dwellings, have been damaged. Floods and landslides have also affected 603.75 hectares of agricultural and horticultural land, besides causing widespread damage to roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, power infrastructure, water supply systems and government buildings.
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