monsoon has hit Mumbai. And the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (mcgm) is busy assuring people that its disaster-preparedness is foolproof. The corporation has guaranteed residents that its rescue team will reach flooded spots within three minutes of the information received. But the ground work is far from over

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The city government is gearing up to meet any flood-related challenges. The Flood Control Order

The Rs.253-crore flood prevention project, to strengthen the bunds of the Cauvery, Coleroon and other rivers in Tiruchi, Karur and combined Perambalur districts, would be completed within two years, Public Works Department Minister Durai Murugan has said. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi would lay the foundation stones for this and three other projects of the Public Works Department to be taken up in Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Karur, Nagapattinam and combined Perambalur districts here on June 24.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday blamed the public-sector North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) for the flash floods in Lakhimpur district of eastern Assam on Saturday. NEEPCO had released water from its Ranganadi hydel project dam in Arunachal Pradesh without any warning.

The state government has instructed Forest employees to tackle possible flood situations by coordinating with district administration. At the behest of Forest Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah a circular has been issued to all the conservators of forests, officers of National Parks and divisional forest officers to coordinate with the district administration and make available adequate staff, vehicles and boats for overcoming drought situation. They have also been instructed to use telecommunication network for sending assistance to flood-affected areas.

Countdown for the arrival of monsoon in the state has begun. According to Met experts, rain is likely to be better this year in comparison to previous year. Requirement on several level is must seeing the monsoon. Villages and cities have their own problems. This is the time when Kharif, specially sowing of soyabean is started. It is necessary that the farmers may not face crisis of seed and fertilizer. The farmers had to face crisis in this connection last year. Problem of qualitative seeds was prevailing in several areas. So complete preparation for kharif crop should be made.

LALITESHWAR PRASAD SINGH In two months the monsoon will arrive. And I am reminded of my visit to East Champaran district of Bihar four

It is unfortunate that the Government of Assam has not yet been able to fully prepare itself to mitigate the sufferings of the people during floods and on most occasions, the concerned departments of the Government start the preparations to deal with the natural calamity only during the monsoon season. Last year, the State faced one of the worst ever floods, which affected all but one district of the State, but till now, most of the flood prone districts are not well equipped to deal with such a situation.

More than 100,000 people, according to unofficial estimate, are feared dead after cyclone Nargis tore through Myanmar late May 2 night. Another 43,000 people were missing four days after the