State to install rain gauges in all firkas, says Kandasamy

Tamil Nadu which till date relies on weather information from the Centre’s IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) to initiate precautionary steps to tackle natural calamities, recently announced a set of measures to create its own infrastructure, according to KS Kandasamy, director, Disaster Management in the Revenue Administration and Disaster Management Department.

Talking to DT Next Kandasamy said, “the present manual gauges in the state will be replaced by state-of-the-art automated rain gauges. We plan to install 1,400 such gadgets at a cost of Rs 70 crore in all the firkas (a firka is a part of a taluk).”

As part of efforts to get accurate data and information about weather conditions, these automated gauges would be installed in thickly populated areas and at locations, which receive heavy rain, he added.

“Similarly, the government plans to spend another Rs 13 crore to set up 100 weather stations in different parts of the state,” Kandasamy said, adding, “these stations will have equipment to monitor water flow conditions, moisture content in soil and thus they will help in monitoring both floods and droughts.”

With all steps for this initiative already in place, tenders are expected to be floated soon, sources revealed.