PRAYAGRAJ, July 17 -- A technology-driven disaster relief system has significantly reduced the time taken to provide financial assistance to families who lose their kin in disasters, with compensation now being transferred within 24 hours in many cases through a fully digital process, said officials. The online workflow has made relief distribution faster, transparent and directly accessible to beneficiaries, added officials. According to district officials, a total of Rs.2.67 crore has been disbursed in Prayagraj till now during the 2026-27 financial year towards disaster relief. This includes Rs.2.56 crore paid to the families of 64 people who lost their lives in disaster-related incidents, Rs.7.43 lakh for 324 cases of livestock loss, and Rs.4.36 lakh as compensation for damage to 103 houses. Additional district magistrate (finance and revenue) Vinita Singh said the digital disaster management system has considerably shortened the time required to process compensation claims. The integrated online mechanism enables officials to verify applications and transfer assistance directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), ensuring timely support to affected families, she added. Officials said the state has strengthened the use of technology to deal with disasters such as floods, droughts, lightning, heatwaves and cold waves. Under the digital system, applications and supporting documents are uploaded online by the village revenue official (Lekhpal), following which they are verified successively by the Kanungo, Tehsildar and the ADM before compensation is released through DBT. The state government has also operationalised the Rahat Portal and the Aapda Prahari App, making the relief distribution process faster, transparent, trackable and accountable, officials said. For comparison, during the 2025-26 financial year, compensation was provided in 204 cases of human deaths, 183 cases of livestock loss and 662 cases of house damage, with financial assistance of Rs.81.60 lakh, Rs.24.91 lakh and Rs.26.61 lakh, respectively, officials added....