The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is closely monitoring the monsoon situation across the country and extending all necessary support to states and Union Territories affected by heavy rainfall, floods and landslides, the government said on Thursday.
According to the MHA, the Integrated Control Room (ICR-ER) is working round the clock in coordination with central agencies, including the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), to issue timely alerts to State and District Emergency Operation Centres and oversee rescue operations.
Several parts of the country, including Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman, and Jammu and Kashmir, have experienced heavy rains and landslides during July.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), working alongside State Disaster Response Forces (SDRFs), state governments and police authorities, has carried out extensive rescue and relief operations in affected regions. The ministry said NDRF teams had been pre-positioned in vulnerable locations to ensure faster response.
Over the past week, rescue teams have saved 52 civilians and evacuated 2,206 people to safer locations across the affected states and Union Territories.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has also mobilised its resources to support relief efforts by assisting in the evacuation of stranded people, transporting rescue personnel and materials, and distributing relief supplies.
The MHA said preparedness measures had been reviewed well before the onset of the monsoon. Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meeting on May 10 to assess readiness for floods and heatwaves, followed by another review on June 3 focusing on heavy rainfall, cloudbursts, floods and landslides in Jammu and Kashmir. Preparedness along the Char Dham Yatra route was also reviewed regularly.
To assess the damage caused by floods and heavy rains, Inter-Ministerial Central Teams visited affected areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam from July 7 to 10. Another central team is scheduled to visit flood-hit areas of Assam from July 25 to evaluate losses caused by continuing rains and floods and facilitate financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
The ministry also noted that while the recent spell of heavy rainfall has disrupted normal life in several regions, it has helped improve the country’s overall rainfall situation by reducing the earlier projected rainfall deficit from around 30 per cent to nearly 15 per cent.
