Guwahati, Sep 25: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the state was looking for technology-driven solutions for flood preparedness, especially after the recent deluge that caused huge loss of lives and resources.
Speaking at the launch of the North East Seva Innovation Challenge (NESFIC) here, Sarma said everybody in the state understands the importance of better flood preparedness and that he has a firm belief that the youth will come up with solutions to address it.
The Science and Technology Department has brought challenges involving satellites, drones and artificial intelligence for crop-health monitoring, wetland mapping, encroachment detection on government land and development of systems for flood management and early warning.
The chief minister said that even a few additional hours of advance warning provided through technology could help a district administration protect lives, homes and livelihoods during floods.
"We have seen recent floods in Sivasagar and Charaideo districts... Perhaps, had we received a warning five or six hours earlier, several lives and properties could have been saved," he added.
He said 'NESFIC-Ashtalakshmi for Viksit Bharat' provides a dedicated platform for talent, creativity and problem-solving capabilities of the youth of the Northeast. NESFIC seeks to create a practical ecosystem in which young innovators can identify real-world challenges, develop solutions and move toward actual implementation.
The initiative is not about innovation merely for the sake of creating something new but about understanding the problems faced by people, government institutions and industries and applying knowledge, creativity and technology to develop practical solutions, he added.
