People cross a river during the Kosi deluge in 2008. Telegraph picture

Patna, May 6: Over four lakh residents of Chatapur, Basantpur, Triveniganj and Pratappur blocks of Supaul district, around 250km north-east of Patna, can be assured that they would not be caught unaware in case a flood hits their area this year.

An early warning system is set to be put in place that would inform these residents, who were the one of the worst sufferers in 2008 Kosi deluge, well in advance in case there is a threat of flood in the area.

Bihar Inter Agency Group (BIAG) has taken the initiative in this regard, which, with the support of state disaster management department (DMD), has taken the responsibility of setting up the early warning system that would be first of its kind in Bihar.

BIAG is a platform, which has around 50 non-government organisations and agencies, working in the field of disaster management, as its members. Agencies like UNDP, Unicef and CARE India are the core members of the BIAG.

“With the help of DMD, we would collect related data on flood threat, which would be followed by its analysis that would result in identification of areas likely to be hit by floods,” BIAG convener Sanjay Pandey told The Telegraph.

BIAG would also prepare the topographical map of the area and it would be used in identifying the suggested escape routes in event of floods. Identification of prospective shelters for the people, too, would be a part of the process.

To carry out this exercise, BIAG has roped in the services of P.K. Satapodar and his team members from Pune, who have expertise in carrying out such work. The team would be coming to Bihar in the third week of May and it is likely to complete its work well before the commencement of the rainy season.

“The emergency operation centre set up at the office of Supaul district magistrate (DM) would work as the control room for this project where information collection and analysis would be done,” Pandey said and added that based on the analysis, warnings, after consent of the DM, would be issued to the people.

To ensure that the warning reaches the people without any distortion, the BIAG is holding talks with different service providers for using voice mails to disseminate information about warnings.

“Using the voice mail, the control room would deliver the message to the block and panchayat-level officials, who in turn would use public announcement system for making people listen to their content sent from the control room,” Pandey said.

DMD would keep a close tab on the new initiative as it plans to set up early warning system for the entire state. The move assumes significance as the department has no such system in place at present and it has no means to reach out directly to the community as far as issuing warnings in case a natural disaster strikes the state.

“We would use the BIAG initiative as a pilot project, as its outcome would provide us valuable inputs as far as setting up the early warning system on a larger scale is concerned,” DMD principal secretary Vyasji said.