Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) The Indian government will embank the rivers originating from Nepal to prevent floods in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday.

“The ministry of water resources is taking various initiatives for embankments of the rivers originating from Nepal to prevent floods in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” Chidambaram said at a disaster management meeting here.

Parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are flooded every monsoon due to unchecked water flowing from Nepal. Each year, the floods leave a trail of destruction in the two states. Negotiations with the Himalayan neighbour in recent years regarding dam construction on these rivers have failed to reach any conclusion.

Last week, Water Resources Minister Salman Khurshid expressed hope that some proposed dam projects in Nepal would help with irrigation and electricity, and also control floods in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

“But this will only be possible when the talks between Nepal and India move forward and a plan is formed to execute the project. We are discussing this matter on a priority basis,” he said.

Chidambaram at the disaster management meeting also asked the states to implement various safety regulations so as to prevent man-made disasters.

He said the disaster management in the country has changed from “reactive to pro-active in the last five years”.

“Though relief is an important activity even today for any kind of disaster, in the changed scenario, prevention, mitigation, preparedness and reconstruction assume greater significance,” he said.

He said the government has allocated a lot of funds for revamping the fire services in the country, especially for purchase of modern fire fighting equipment and specialized training to fire-fighters.