By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 10 Apr: District Magistrate Savin Bansal today convened a meeting of senior officials of the Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan and UPCL at the Collectorate to review preparations for uninterrupted water and electricity supply during the summer months. The meeting focused on swift grievance redressal and ensuring consistent delivery of essential services.
Bansal emphasised that uninterrupted access to drinking water and electricity remains a top priority for the district administration. Assuring adequate budgetary support towards this objective, the DM directed officials concerned to act with urgency, warning that any delay in response to water shortages would not be tolerated. To streamline complaint handling, he instructed the posting of one Junior Engineer each from Jal Sansthan, Jal Nigam, Vidyut Smart City, and UUSDA at the district control room being set up for the purpose.
For effective emergency response, Bansal further mandated that senior officers from each division of Jal Sansthan be stationed with contingency plans and updated contact details. It was shared at the meeting that the tenders for the water tankers have been finalised, with strict directives for immediate purification or filtration of all water sources.
Highlighting the importance of public awareness regarding these issues, Bansal instructed that helpline numbers for Jal Sansthan, Drinking Water Corporation, and Electricity Divisions be widely and repeatedly circulated. He also called for advance preparation in crisis-prone areas, with adequate pumps and motors to be kept on standby to ensure continued operation of the tube-wells. All Superintending Engineers (SEs) have been asked to identify water-stressed areas and ensure uninterrupted supply through robust planning. Sufficient deployment of linemen and tube-well operators must be ensured for quick repairs and maintenance. The DM warned that manpower constraints must not hamper operations and assured that financial assistance will be extended as needed.
To facilitate prompt resolution of complaints, a centralised control room will be set up at the district level. Superintending Engineers were directed during the meeting, to post competent representatives from their respective divisions throughout the season. Detailed status reports—covering manpower deployment, tanker filling points, pipeline integrity, pumping schemes, hand pumps, and contingency measure will have to be submitted without delay to the district administration. Continuous electricity supply to all tubewells must be ensured, with toll-free complaint numbers actively publicised.
Bansal also directed ADM KK Mishra to effectively coordinate interdepartmental efforts and address field-level challenges related to power and water supply. Officials from UUSDA, Jal Nigam, Jal Sansthan, ENM, DWSM, UPCL, and Smart City Mission discussed the preparedness measures at length.
Superintending Engineers reported that tenders for tanker-based water distribution had been approved, generators arranged for power supply at tube-wells, and toll-free helplines activated across all divisions.
Among those who participated in the meeting included Chief Development Officer (CDO) Abhinav Shah, ADM KK Mishra, SDM Kumkum Joshi, Chief Engineer Peyjal Nigam Nisha Sinha, Chief Engineer Jal Sansthan Namit Ramola, Chief Engineers Praveen and Rajiv Saini, and Executive Engineers from various departments.
