New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that efforts should be made to further improve our assessment of the upcoming monsoon by studying casualties during the monsoon season, the accuracy of our forecasts, and the damage caused to the agriculture sector.
Shri Amit Shah appreciated the work being carried out by the ministries and departments participating in the meeting, as well as the coordination among them. He said that the time has now come for our weather-related plans to reach the grassroots level.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah has accorded the highest priority to preparedness for reducing the impact of floods and other natural disasters. Every year, the Union Home Minister conducts a detailed review of pre-flood preparedness, and several important initiatives have been undertaken in accordance with his directions. These include extending the advance period for rainfall and flood forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Central Water Commission (CWC) from 3 days to 7 days, as well as improving the standards for heat wave forecasting.
The meeting was attended by Union Jal Shakti Minister Shri C. R. Patil, Union Home Secretary, Shri Govind Mohan Secretaries and senior officials of various ministries, members and heads of departments of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Director Generals of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Chairpersons of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Central Water Commission (CWC), as well as senior officials from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) and other concerned departments.