JAMMU: Union Home minister Amit Shah on Monday toured rain, flood, and landslide-hit areas in the Jammu division to assess the damage inflicted by the natural disaster. He inspected the Tawi Bridge near Bikram Chowk, Shiv Temple, and some of the houses that were damaged due to floods and also interacted with affected families in Mangu Chak village.
Thereafter, Shah presided over a top-level review meeting in Jammu with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and top Central and Union Territory government officers.
Conveying sorrow over the deaths, he stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been following the situation right from day one, and the Government of India has utilised all its might in rescue and relief efforts.
Emphasising the need for readiness, Shah underlined a critical re-examination of early warning apps (EWAs), especially the Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) system, to shift towards a “zero-casualty” framework. He asked the Meteorological Department and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to study in concert the correlation between cloudburst propensity and moisture levels in clouds and to put in place a robust early warning system based on AI and data analytics.
The Home minister stated that high-level survey teams from the Ministry of Home Affairs would immediately evaluate the damage and more help would be given. He directed the Health and Water departments to continue services without any hindrance and requested the Army, Central Armed Police Forces, and the Air Force to provide medical aid. Rs 209 crore was released to Jammu & Kashmir under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to hasten relief efforts, said Shah. He added that timely alerts from the Central Government and the UT Disaster Management Authority saved lives. 17 NDRF teams, 23 Army columns, Air Force helicopters, UTDRF, J&K Police, and CAPFs are all currently busy with rescue and relief operations. Over 5,000 individuals have been evacuated to safer places.
Shah stated that over 80 percent of the power supply has been restored in affected areas, drinking water and health facilities are running smoothly, and road connectivity is being restored on a priority basis. SDRF assistance for houses damaged due to snowfall is being evaluated and will be released in a prompt manner.