NEW DELHI, June 23: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said at least 50 large ponds should be created in the northeast to divert water of the Brahmaputra to help tackle floods and develop agriculture, irrigation and tourism.
Chairing a review meeting on preparedness for flood management during the monsoon, Shah also emphasised on optimum use of satellite imagery provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for flood and water management.
He also took stock of the preparations to deal with Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).
Shah said efforts should be made to upgrade the forecast system of water level of rivers for better flood management.
He said at least 50 large ponds should be created in the northeast so that the water of the Brahmaputra can be diverted and stored in these ponds, according to an official statement.
This will help develop agriculture, irrigation and tourism in those areas at a low cost and also help tackle floods, eventually benefiting the local economy, he added.
Recurring flooding of the Brahmaputra is a major issue for Assam and the northeastern region as it claims scores of lives and inundates thousands of hectares of land every year.
Many people were killed, hundreds rendered homeless and communication lines and road networks snapped in Sikkim and Uttarakhand in the last few years following flash floods created due to the glacial lake outburst, which has become another major concern for the government during monsoon.
The home minister said the natural drainage system should be an integral part of the designs of road construction to deal with their inundation in case of floods.
Shah said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's disaster management is moving forward with a ‘zero casualty approach'.
He instructed the departments concerned to conduct a detailed study of the recent floods in Sikkim and Manipur and submit a report to the Union home ministry.
The home minister said flood monitoring centres of the Central Water Commission (CWC) should be in accordance with the requirements and of international standards.
Shah emphasised on the need to integrate weather, rainfall and flood warning related apps developed by various departments.
