Dredge Brahmaputra to control floods: Goyal

From a Correspondent

New Delhi, May 16: Union Home Secretary LC Goyal on Saturday said that the flood situation due to Brahmaputra in Assam and Jhelum river in Jammu & Kashmir cannot be tackled without periodic dredging.

Aware of the severe flood havoc by the Bharmaputra, Goel said that every warning issued by the Indian Meteorological Department must be taken seriously whether it is big or small.

Goyal has called for building capacities of the tiol Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRFs) to tackle tural and man-made disasters effectively. He was iugurating the annual conference of relief commissioners and secretaries of the departments of disaster magement of States and UTs to review the status of preparedness for South West Monsoon 2015 here.

Goyal said that the primary responsibility of disaster magement rests with the State governments. Noting that only 21 States have constituted SDRFs, the Union Home Secretary said that he expected the other States to set up SDRFs in a given timeframe and the States should utilize the funds given to them by the 14th Fince Commission for this purpose.

“On its part, the Central government has already sanctioned two more battalions in addition to the 10 existing battalions of NDRF to supplement the efforts of the State governments. NDMA is also giving technical support and logistics to the States,” he said.

He called for governments, civic authorities, NGOs and each and everyone to join in this social service is dedicated to saving precious human lives.

The Union Home Secretary also said that the annual conference should be held twice a year. Every year, apart from this annual conference, another conference should be held in October or November to review and assess the works done in this field and take lessons and adopt best practices for better magement of various disasters.