PM Modi meets Chief Ministers of 6 flood-affected states, emphasizes control with new technology

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Chief Ministers of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala in a video conference today to review the current situation of floods along with the southwest monsoon in the country.

The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, both Ministers of State of Home Affairs and senior officials of the concerned Central Ministries and various agencies.

PM Modi said that now new technologies will have to be used to control situations like floods. The Prime Minister laid special emphasis on establishing a permanent system for flood forecasting and improving forecasting and warning systems, ensuring greater coordination between all central and state agencies for wider use of innovative technologies.

He said that in the last few years, the forecasting agencies Meteorological Department and the Central Water Commission have been making concerted efforts for better and more useful flood forecasting. The agency is making efforts not only for rainfall and river level forecasts but also for specific location forecasts of floods. Experimental efforts are also being made to use innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence to improve specific location prediction. States should also provide necessary information to these agencies and make local communities aware of the related warnings in time.

The Prime Minister said that investment in the local early warning system should be increased, so that people of a particular area are warned timely about any danger situation such as river embankment breakdown, flood level rise, lightning fall, etc.