43 big pumping stations in place in Mumbai to prevent flooding, CM told as he takes stock of rain readiness

Times News NetworkMumbai: Forty-three large pumping stations have been made operational in Mumbai to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall and a smart pump monitoring system has been started, CM Devendra Fadnavis was informed by officials during a monsoon preparedness review meeting held by him on Friday.Around 3,000 beds have been reserved in hospitals in case of disasters during the monsoon, disaster management centres will be operational 24x7, and speed of trains will be controlled along the Konkan railway and in the Ghat sections, Fadnavis was informed. Large and small ships, helicopters and interceptor craft have been made available by the Western Naval Command while air ambulance and air cargo facilities have been readied by the Air Force. Ten teams of State Disaster Relief Force have been operationalised, while two more teams have been sanctioned.As 939 villages in the Konkan division are prone to landslides, preventive measures are being implemented to prevent possible accidents. Keeping in mind the previous experience of flood conditions in Savitri and Vashishthi rivers, the riverbeds of both have been desilted.A presentation on disaster preparedness was made by Bhalchandra Chavan, director, state disaster management authority, along with the divisional commissioners of Konkan, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Amravati and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.Disaster management minister Girish Mahajan pointed out that during monsoon, release of water from dam causes floods in villages along the riverbanks. “Proper coordination among departments is important. In order to prevent accidents due to weak bridges, structural audit of bridges should be done and traffic must be stopped on dangerous bridges,” he said.Minister of state for relief and rehabilitation Ashish Jaiswal said there is a need for pre-disaster preparedness, local rescue teams and mapping of dangerous areas in flood-affected villages. He suggested rescue teams, shelters and necessary facilities be provided in advance in villages that are likely to get flooded.There was also a demand to make the early warning system release of water from dams in Madhya Pradesh more effective. Jaiswal, while highlighting the need for rehabilitation of dangerous houses built on banks of rivers and canals, suggested these be shifted to safer places under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Fadnavis directed that an integrated command and control System based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) be developed for disaster management.