Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting at Civil Secretariat regarding flood preparedness and response review in the UT of J&K.
At the outset, Chief Secretary praised the Divisional and District administration for the steps they have already taken regarding flood preparedness and said that we need to continue work in a coordinated manner in all respects.
While chairing the meeting, CS called for devising an effective strategy to deal with any eventuality. He called for evolving proper SoPs to deal with the situation where every concerned individual is fully acquainted with his/her role and responsibility in the times of emergency. He directed the officers to remain in a state of alertness to combat any eventuality that may arise.
Asserting that zonal level Committees play a critical role in time of an emergency, CS said that they need to be trained and should not be found wanting in any respect. He said that flood response manuals should be circulated among all the concerned and should be studied deeply.
Regarding the Decision Support System, CS said that it should be upgraded and supported by Digital Risk Data Base which is an inventory of all the resources, infrastructure etc available in an area so that a proper and coordinated plan is framed and executed in time.
He further called for having a detailed flood mapping/inundation map of each area to act accordingly. He exhorted upon the concerned officers to have proper planning in place to deal effectively with the natural disasters and mobilisation of resources to be done in advance and flood duty charts issued.
Dulloo also inquired about the stock position of different flood mitigation items available with the departments in their stores and urged for conducting mock exercises by involving all stake holding departments at ground level.
Administrative Secretaries from respective departments gave details about their preparedness and the steps they have taken to mitigate the possible disasters.
Secretary Health informed that they have prepared a comprehensive plan like shifting of vital installations, equipment, machinery to meet any contingency. SMC Commissioner informed that they have pre-positioned men, machinery, mobile and static de-watering pumps at the identified locations in Srinagar city. The Fire and Emergency department has also kept fire tenders and portable pumps for the purpose as well.
Similarly, all Deputy Commissioners informed the meeting about the flood preparedness in their respective districts.
During the meeting, Dulloo was informed that a safety audit of embankments has been completed and temporary measures have been taken, wherever necessary. It was informed that the divisional control room of Irrigation and Flood department at Ram Mushi Bagh is fully functional 24/7. It was also given out that information dissemination is going on and advertisements are flashed on social media, radio, TV etc.
It was given out in the meeting that 24/7 control rooms have been established to monitor the gauge sites and duty roaster of officers along with their contact numbers have been prepared and circulated among all for information.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Jal Shakti, Principal Secretary, DMRRR, Department, Civil Secretariat, ADGP, L&O, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Director, Fire & Emergency, ADGP, Jammu Zone (through VC), Commissioner Secretary Housing & Urban Dev. Department, IGP, Kashmir Zone, IGP, Traffic, J&K, IGP, CRPF, Srinagar, Administrative Secretary Public Works Department, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu (through VC), Secretary to the Govt., Health & Medical Education and other senior officers.