Floods cause havoc in Manipur

By ANI | ANI – 3 hours ago

Imphal, July 29 (ANI): Due to incessant rains in Manipur, water is flowing above the danger level in most rivers and some parts of the state are flooded.

Rising waters of Lilong, Nambul, Waisel Maril, Chakpi and Thoubal River crossed the embankment and flooded some parts of the Imphal city.

Flood waters have not only made commuting difficult but have also entered people's homes in areas like Uripok, Lamphelpat, Lamsang, Nambol and Langol Grace Colony. ast tracts of agricultural land have also been submerged in the floods. Thousands of acres of paddy fields and fish farms have been destroyed.

The affected areas include villages on the outskirts of Imphal and Bishnupur.

"Many farmers who were running fish farms have been severely affected by the floods. Fishes worth lakhs of rupees, have escaped from the ponds. Several houses have also been flooded in water," said Priyokumar.

"Many fields and farms have been flooded. I think income will be reduced by about 40 percent this year. It is worse than last year," said Indrajeet Singh.

The State Government has set up two relief camps in the region at Tammi Chingmi market.

The government has also provided Bamboo mats to the people who are rebuilding the embankment that has been breached by overflowing rivers.

"The water is flowing above the danger level. More than 1000 hectares of paddy fields have been submerged. We urge the private organizations and the government to help us. Many displaced families have taken shelter at government relief camps," said Biren Nongthobam, a villager at the relief camp.

"Being an MLA of this region, I have opened two relief camps, one at the Tribal village and another in Thangtek. I am here to deliver relief materials especially food items to the relief camps for the affected families," said K Sarat Singh, MLA, Konthoujam District.

Recently floods in Assam left more than 2 lakh people homeless. A total of 197 villages and 5.7-lakh hectares area were affected. The worst affected was Lakhimpur. (ANI)

Source:- http://in.news.yahoo.com/floods-cause-havoc-manipur-075124686.html

Source:-

This monsoon, MMS alerts to warn of disaster

This monsoon, MMS alerts to warn of disaster
Published: Monday, Feb 28, 2011, 1:37 IST
By Priyanka Sharma | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

The civic body will go high-tech to avert any disaster this monsoon and avoid all forms of miscommunication.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will send MMS alerts to citizens to spread awareness on flood-like situations and water-logged roads. In a bid to leverage the message’s reachability and enhance the communication system, the BMC will explore the third generation(3G) technology.
The Bombay high court had earlier criticised the role of TV channels in airing old pictures and videos during monsoon, which propagate incorrect information and create panic among people. Civic officials claimed that the MMS alerts sent to citizens will aim at eradicating all such possibilities.

SS Shinde, joint municipal commissioner (disaster) said the custom method needs to be modernised to efficiently manage any disaster during monsoon. “The civic body will collaborate with the telecom service providers in the city for this enhanced service. The aim is to boost the information circuit and create awareness among the citizens at the earliest,” Shinde said.

BMC officials added that the purpose of effective communication is rarely met through bulk SMS alerts. “SMS alerts to around one lakh people take over 12 hours. The new method will be quicker and more citizen-friendly,” said a senior BMC official.

BMC is working on improvising the system of custom bulk SMS alerts. Shinde said that they are working on sending lakhs of text messages in a span of half an hour through usage of optical fibres. The BMC’s disaster cell currently relies on hotlines and HAM system to communicate.

Also, language is too a hitch, said the official. Along with English, the civic body will be sending the alerts in Hindi and Marathi. Due to the speed constraints and language, usage of 3G technology is will be adopted.

Implementing 3G will boost the rate at which the information is provided to the people, the official added.

Through the motion pictures, it will be easier for citizens to gauge the gravity of the situation themselves, the official said. The BMC is, meanwhile, finalising the monetary feasibility for the scheme. The MMS will also provide information on traffic jams, tidal information and rainfall intensity. Along with this, the information will be forwarded to the police control room.

However, BMC’s concern is the effective implementation of the service. “Not all citizens have cell phones which are capable of reading messages sent through MMS. Thus, its reliability will not be complete,” added Shinde.





+ -
Related links
Budget fails to enthuse PuneITs
Pune Inc gives thumbs up to Pranab Mukherjee
Maharashtra's sugar industry ‘sour’ as policy issues remain unresolved
Food processing companies in Pune happy with budget
Tax on tests, hospitals will inflate health bills in Pune

Gallery

Disaster awaits ration office in Borivali
Comments | Post a comment | Share this article | Print | Email

Contact Information
Other Details

subscriptions@dnaindia.net
Diligent Media Corporation
DNA Wing, First Floor, Oasis Building,
Kamla Mills Compound,
Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400 013
Tel: + 91 22 3988 8888
Fax: + 91 22 3980 1000