10 more states witnessing flooding during last 3 years: Govt
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Jul, 2021 11:15 AM
New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) In addition to the existing flood-prone Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, extreme floods (water level above previous highest flood level) were seen in 10 more states, due to excess to large excess rainfall in these states combined with extremely heavy rainfall in short duration, the Parliament was told on Monday.
These states are Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question by LJD member M.V. Shreyams Kumar.
He also said that the Central Water Commission (CWC) is the nodal agency entrusted with the task of flood forecasting and early flood warnings in the country. Presently, it issues flood forecasts for 328 forecasting stations (190 river level forecast stations & 138 dam/barrage inflow forecast stations), covering 20 major river basins in 23 states and two Union Territories.
The CWC also maintains flood damage data of the country, according to which, maximum damages due to floods, during 2017-2019, were in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka.
The letter was written by 49 personalities, including filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Shyam Benegal, veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee and vocalist Shubha Mudgal in July this year.
The plan includes induction of more Tejas and Sukhoi aircraft, integrating of indigenous ASTRA beyond visual range missile across platforms and upgrading the Jaguar jet fleet among others, Air Marshal Bhadauria said.
