Centre Strengthens Flood Preparedness in Ganga Basin
Government enhances forecasting, early warning systems and India-Nepal coordination for flood management
- Centre reviews flood preparedness regularly in flood-prone states, including Bihar.
- AI-based flood forecasting and public alert systems strengthened across the Ganga basin.
- India and Nepal continue coordination through multiple bilateral flood management mechanisms.
- Mock drills, GIS monitoring and emergency response systems enhanced in vulnerable districts.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 29th July: The Centre on Wednesday informed the Rajya Sabha that it is regularly reviewing disaster preparedness and emergency response mechanisms in flood-prone states, including Bihar, in view of increasingly frequent extreme rainfall events, while issuing advisories and alerts to states and Union Territories for preventive action.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, in a written reply, said India has strengthened its integrated flood emergency management framework for the Ganga basin through advanced forecasting systems, early warning mechanisms and coordinated disaster response.
The government said flood and river management issues are regularly discussed with Nepal through established bilateral mechanisms, including the Joint Team on Flood Forecasting (JTFF), Joint Committee on Kosi and Gandak Projects (JCKGP), Joint Committee on Inundation and Flood Management (JCIFM) and the Joint Committee on Water Resources (JCWR).
According to the Ministry, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Central Water Commission (CWC) are using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning models to forecast rainfall, floods and flash floods, enabling authorities to take timely preventive measures and issue public warnings.
Flood alerts generated by the IMD and CWC are shared with states and districts through State Emergency Operation Centres and are disseminated to the public using the Sachet App, SMS-based Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and the Cell Broadcast System.
The government also said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conduct multi-state and multi-agency mock exercises to improve preparedness and emergency response capabilities.
Referring to Bihar, the Ministry said the state has adopted an integrated flood emergency management approach involving the Disaster Management Department, Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, district administrations, Water Resources Department and Home Department. The framework combines structural measures such as embankments, anti-erosion works and drainage improvement with non-structural interventions, including flood forecasting, GIS-based monitoring, digital reporting, early warning systems and inter-departmental coordination.
