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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

India, U.S. meet on urban flooding

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The U.S. and Indian experts will work out some permanent solutions to urban flooding at a three-day Indo-U.S. conference on “Disaster Management and Urban Flooding” being organised at Dr. M.C.R. Institute of HRD here from January 7.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the United States Agency for International Development are jointly organising the conference in view of the recurring cases of urban flooding in India.

It will be inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, John Paul Woodley, junior assistant secretary of Army (Civil Works) of the U.S. government and Gen N. C. Vij, vice-chairman, NDMA, will participate.

Addressing reporters here on Friday, M. Shashidhar Reddy, member, NDMA, said urban flooding had become a major threat now, citing the recent examples of Surat, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. There was concern over this aspect in all quarters, because people were expected to migrate to urban areas in the next 30 years.

India’s population was expected to touch and stabilise at 160 crore by 2050 and 60 to 65 per cent of this population would live in urban areas by then. The loss suffered in Surat floods alone was estimated at over Rs. 50,000 crore.

He said the U.S. experts would visit Hussainsagar and its catchment area to formulate a flood mitigation plan.

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