By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 20 Jul: In view of the alert for heavy rains in the state, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today visited the Disaster Control Room at the Secretariat and took stock of the situation in the state. The Chief Minister observed that there is a need to remain alert in view of the possibility of heavy rains. Disaster preparedness ought to be regularly tested and any deficiencies detected rectified immediately. The CM also warned the officers concerned not to keep their mobiles switched off under any circumstances and said that no excuse would be tolerated in this respect. Strict action would be taken against erring officials for dereliction of duty.
Dhami said that the District Magistrates ought to take a final decision on declaring a holiday in the schools in their respective districts depending on the situation and the alert warning and stressed that there be no carelessness in this regard.
The Chief Minister directed the officials to ensure that the supply of essential commodities like food grains, medicines, fuel, etc., was maintained at all places. Continuous coordination had to be maintained with the telecom companies to ensure that there is no problem in the communication network.
Dhami added, “Develop a system so that the information disseminated from the state headquarters reaches the village without any delay. All the departmental secretaries and heads of departments should regularly monitor their respective departments from the point of view of disaster. In the event of a disaster, the buildings and places identified to house the affected should be re-examined from the point of view of safety. New and young officers should be deployed for this.”
The CM was told that an adequate number of SDRF and NDRF teams have been deployed to deal with any possible eventuality. Real time monitoring is being done. JCBs and other machines have been installed at places identified as vulnerable to open the roads immediately after landslides. A ban on long-term leave of officers and employees is already in force.
Chief Secretary Dr SS Sandhu, Secretary, Disaster Management, Dr Ranjit Sinha and other officers were present on the occasion.
