Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 30 Oct: In view of the orange and the yellow alerts issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for various districts of Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami this morning directed the government and district administration officials to remain fully alert and take all necessary precautionary measures. He said that disaster management preparations must be kept in a state of readiness across all districts and that all the departments concerned should work in close coordination to effectively deal with any emergency situation arising from adverse weather conditions.
According to the weather forecast issued by the IMD Dehradun, on 30 October, an orange alert has been issued for Nainital, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Chamoli districts owing to the possibility of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hailstorms and gusty winds blowing at speeds of 40 to 50 kmph at isolated places. The department has also forecast the possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated locations in Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Nainital and Champawat districts. A yellow alert has been issued for the remaining districts of the state, warning of thunderstorms and strong winds.
The CM directed that trekking activities in mountainous regions should be regulated until weather conditions return to normal. He also instructed authorities to exercise special caution in sensitive and landslide-prone areas and to regulate traffic wherever necessary. In the event of road blockages, the concerned departments have been asked to ensure immediate action for reopening affected routes.
Dhami further directed all the District Magistrates (DMs) to ensure that the officers designated under the Incident Response System (IRS) for disaster management, along with departmental nodal officers, remain on high alert. Officials of the Revenue, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj departments have been asked to remain active in their respective areas. The police, SDRF, Fire Services and other rescue teams have also been directed to remain fully prepared with the necessary equipment.
The CM also specifically instructed that the movement of tourists in high Himalayan regions should be regulated during periods of heavy rainfall and adverse weather. He emphasised that all the weather warnings issued by the IMD must be taken seriously and that timely precautionary measures should be implemented to prevent any untoward incidents and ensure immediate relief and assistance to affected people whenever required.
