The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) is set to introduce the Cell Broadcast System (CBS) statewide to enhance disaster readiness and ensure prompt delivery of emergency notifications to the public and officials. The CBS, a domestic public alert system initiated by the Government of India on May 2, has been fully activated in Assam under ASDMA’s supervision. This system, developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs, allows authorities to send immediate, location-specific emergency alerts to all mobile phones in a designated area, facilitating swift communication of crucial information during crises.
Following a nationwide trial on May 2, the CBS was made available for implementation across the country, including in Assam, except for states under the Model Code of Conduct, like Assam. Now that the election process has concluded, the state government is preparing to launch the system in compliance with the Government of India’s directives. During the implementation phase, citizens may receive emergency alerts on their mobile devices, which are designed to forewarn about imminent disasters and are characterized by a loud alarm and notification sound lasting approximately 30 seconds on mobile phones.
Authorized government agencies will exclusively issue these alerts during genuine emergencies such as severe storms, heavy rainfall, lightning, cyclones, floods, flash floods, gas leaks, and other crisis scenarios. The notifications will display as pop-up messages with a unique tone and vibration, and compatible devices will also read the message aloud. Officials have advised the public not to panic upon receiving such alerts and have urged citizens to remain composed, emphasizing that these messages form part of an official disaster warning system aimed at safeguarding lives and reducing risks. They highlighted that the CBS surpasses traditional SMS-based alerts in reliability, remaining functional even during network congestion, reaching all users in a targeted area, including roaming subscribers, and supporting multiple languages across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks.
