By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 25 Apr: The State Weather Centre of Indian Meteorological Department in Dehradun has predicted a heavier than normal monsoon this season. According to Dr Bikram Singh, Director of the Centre, the chances of heavier than the normal monsoon this season are more than 60 percent. He has urged the state government to prepare for this eventuality. He has predicted that Uttarakhand is also likely to witness excessive rains.
Dr Singh shared this forecast during a training camp organised by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) in Dehradun, today, for various departments regarding monsoon preparations.
Dr Bikram Singh said that the Meteorological Department continuously sends alerts regarding the weather. If due actions are taken, the ill-effects of disasters can be minimised to a great extent and the loss of life and property can also be reduced to a great extent. Singh said that impact based forecast is being issued by the Meteorological Department, due to which various departments do get enough time to make their preparations in time. He said that real time monitoring of weather is also being done by the department, due to which it is possible to make accurate predictions to a great extent.
Meteorological scientist Rohit Thapliyal added that information about the weather is available on the website of the Meteorological Department all the time and this information is disseminated to the people through various media. Along with issuing alerts, the Meteorological Department also shares information about what precautions should be taken.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shantanu Sarkar, Director of Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre (ULMMC), stated that there is a need to be cautious during the rainy season in landslide prone areas of the state. The departments concerned should expedite mitigation and management measures for all such areas. He explained in detail the need to improve drainage systems, building retaining walls and fencing with modern technology in landslide prone areas, monitoring landslide areas and issuing early warnings, as well as mapping rock fall zones. He said that making shelters (a kind of tunnel) on the road in landslide prone areas is a good option. Due to this, debris will fall on the shelter and traffic will continue to flow normally below the shelter. These measures, he stated can help control the damage and losses to life and property to a great extent.
USDMA health expert Dr Vimlesh Joshi and meteorologist Dr Pooja Rana shared in detail information regarding the measures to protect against lightning. They said that there is a need to take the incidents seriously because every year a large number of people lose their precious lives due to lightning strikes. He added that, when inside the house, remove the plug from the electric switches and to never use wired phones. When there is lightning, one should neither take a bath nor wash utensils. He said that there is a need to take more precautions when outside the house.
Dr Pooja Rana also stressed that standing under a tree or leaning on an electric or other pole can be dangerous at the time of lightning. If one is boating or swimming, it is important to come out of the water. She also explained the measures to provide first aid to a person injured by electricity. SEOC in-charge of USDMA, Rahul Jugran shared information regarding the preparations made by the department regarding the monsoon and Char Dham Yatra. He said that USDMA is fully prepared for the Char Dham Yatra as well as the upcoming monsoon.
In the training programme, apart from training and capacity development expert Jessica Terone, IEC expert Manish Bhagat, officials of departments like DDMO, CMO, Public Works Department, Education, Forest, Horticulture, Panchayati Raj Department, Pitkul, NDRF, SDRF, Police Department, etc., of all the districts also participated.
