Kathmandu, July 28

At a time when floods and landslides have wreaked havoc in various parts of the country, Nepal Telecom (NT) has entered into an agreement with the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DoHM) to provide early warnings on disasters through SMS.

According to the agreement, NT subscribers residing around the Mahakali, western Rapti, Kankai, Babai, Karnali, Narayani, Bagmati and Koshi rivers and Himalayan region will be given earning warnings in face of disasters.

For this, NT will provide the details of its subscribers residing in the identified vulnerable areas to the DoHM. The department will then send early alerts in bulk message using 1155 code to the residents of the vulnerable areas through SMS.

NT will provide the service to its subscribers for free, as per a media release issued today.

Buddhi Prasad Acharya, managing director of Nepal Telecom, and Rishi Ram Sharma, director general of DoHM, signed the agreement during a function held here today.

Acharya informed that the telecommunication service provider decided to enter into an agreement with the DoHM to provide the early flood warnings to minimise the losses to lives and property. Stating that NT has entered into partnerships with other organisations in the past for disaster-risk mitigation, he further pointed to the possibilities of collaborating in other sectors as well since NT’s customer base is spread all over the country.

Meanwhile, Sharma said minimising disaster-related risks was the joint responsibility of both organisations and committed to effectively implement the agreement, according to the release.