Maharashtra government has decided to offer the services of its online flood management system to other states, after its successful application over the last two years.
"Around 23,000 people were trapped in the floods in rural areas of Pune in 2005. Two years ago, when these areas were flooded again, the number of people trapped decreased to 17. This was possible because the villagers had left the danger zone as soon as they received warning of the floods.
"The state's online flood management system has proved efficient in reducing the damage caused by floods for the last couple of years," said Suhas Diwase, director of the state's disaster management cell.
"We are open to providing consultancy to other states, which face floods and suffer huge losses every year, about how to monitor them and take measures to avoid the damage. We will provide the service to anyone who is interested in adopting the model," Diwase told PTI here today.
The system is currently used to monitor water levels in the Krishna-Bhima basin. As many as 250 censors have been installed across the catchment areas as well as the command areas of various dams.
They record the water levels after every 15 minutes and relay it to the concerned authorities such as the collector, tehsildar and the village committees. Many people are kept in loop simultaneously to avoid communication gap.
"Once the village committees get a message that water level is rising, their work starts. We have formed several committees to ensure that villagers are not trapped in flooded areas, and get shelter and food in emergency," said Diwase.
The state designed the system in 2009 with the help of United Nations Development Programme.
