
Shillong, July 29: The Meghalaya government is coordinating with the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Department of Space, Government of India, for an early warning alert system for cyclone, landslide, flood and lightning. The government has also decided to use drone technology in disaster management and its mitigation.
This was informed by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma as he addressed the gathering at the meeting of the commonwealth parliamentary association for India III zone ( NE states) at the Assembly at Rilbong here on Saturday
One of the themes of discussion is ‘natural disasters and strategies for management with special reference to North East Region’.
The chief minister said the geographical location in a high seismic zone and mountainous terrain, coupled with the effects of climate change, leaves ‘our region prone to natural disasters such as floods, landslides, cyclones, droughts, and earthquakes. Heavy floods, landslides, cyclone, droughts and occasional earthquaqakes have now become regular occurrence. These calamities are always a setback to the pace of development – something that we need to encounter with a resolute determination and an effective response mechanism, he said.
“This reminds me of the recent floods in the Garo Hills, where a timely and coherent approach was taken involving the government agencies, private sector organisations, non-profits, faith-based organisations, and volunteers. Their combined efforts resulted in a well-organised mechanism of channelizing the available resources to cope with the disaster and coordinating the roles and responsibilities of responders in an effective manner. Our community institutions have to be similarly empowered so that they can act as first responders to save lives in any disaster” he said.
According to the chief minister, there is a need to document and study the impact of climate change so that predictive models can be created to understand how changing weather patterns can impact fragile eco-systems.
“I have in the recently concluded G20 Summit on Nature Solves advocated for the setting up of a Centre for Climate Change in the State of Meghalaya. The centre can be a regional hub of excellence gathering climate data and designing strategies for the entire North Eastern Region”, he said.
Although the location has been creating hurdles to the pace of our development, it also holds significant importance in terms of strategic, cultural, economic and ecological aspects, leading to development of trade and commerce with ASEAN countries. This plays a vital role in improving the socio-economic condition of the states of Northeast, the chief minister said.