Due to floods and heavy rains, 1 lakh people died in 65 years

Ground Report | New Delhi: Due to floods and heavy rains in the country from 1953 to 2018, 1,09,374 people died, while 61,09,628 animals died. It is estimated that the country suffered a loss of about Rs 4,00,097 crore during these 65 years, About 40 million hectares of India's area is flood-affected. 

The information has been given in the report presented in both the houses by the Standing Committee of Parliament (Water Resources) for the 17th Lok Sabha. It was said in this report that this figure of the National Flood Commission is very huge. Poor planning, failure of flood control policies, incomplete preparedness, and ineffective disaster management are responsible for the huge losses caused by floods every year.

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Due to floods and heavy rains

The Standing Committee said that the way the outbreak of floods is increasing every year. In view of this, now the central and state governments cannot blame each other, as has come to the notice of the committee. While everyone should understand that it is everyone's responsibility to manage the floods.

The committee has stressed that the attitude of shifting the responsibility on each other has to be ended. The committee has recommended that the Union Ministry of Water Resources take responsibility of flood management throughout the country.

The Standing Committee has also asked the Center to constitute a permanent National Integrated Flood Management Group (NIFMG) under the chairmanship of the Minister of Jal Shakti, in which the concerned ministers of each state should also be included and at least one meeting should be held in a year. . The committee has recommended that the first meeting of this group be convened within three months of the report being tabled in Parliament.

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Change in rainfall pattern

It has been said in the report that the time has come when the central and state governments work together to reduce the damage caused by floods. The committee has suggested the preparation of an Integrated River Basin Management Plan, covering all the flood-affected states as well as neighboring countries, so that the waters of the neighboring countries can also be managed.

The Standing Committee has said in its report that due to climate change, there has been a lot of change in the rainfall pattern. While there has been a decrease in the total number of days of rain, there has been an increase in the incidence of simultaneous heavy rains. Therefore, it has become very important now that the planners work afresh on the strategy of flood control.

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