Before the arrival of monsoon in Uttarakhand, the government and administration have come on full alert mode. Especially in view of the past bitter experiences of heavy rains and waterlogging in the capital Dehradun, this time preparations are going on war footing. Accountability of officials is being fixed to ensure that no major untoward incident occurs in the capital during monsoon and the general public does not have to face waterlogging or landslides. In this series, Principal Secretary and district in-charge of Dehradun, Dr. R. Meenakshi Sundaram held a very important and high-level meeting regarding pre-monsoon preparedness and disaster management arrangements in the District Office Auditorium in Dehradun.
In fact, in the last few years, sudden heavy rains (short duration high intensity rainfall) in many areas of Dehradun had exposed the claims of the administration. Keeping this in mind, this time in this brainstorming held in the presence of District Magistrate Dr. Ashish Chauhan, every sensitive point was reviewed in detail. The Principal Secretary has clearly told the officers that there is no scope for negligence and all the pending works should be completed at any cost before the onset of monsoon.
Big decision on waterlogging at ISBT and cleaning of rivers and drains
In the meeting, there was a special discussion on the problem of waterlogging in ISBT area, which is considered the biggest headache of Dehradun. Every time it rains this area becomes an island. This time, for a permanent solution to this problem, it has been decided to form a joint team of MDDA, Public Works Department (PWD), Municipal Corporation, Irrigation Department and District Administration, which will work together. Along with this, instructions have been given to immediately start the work of cleaning and repairing 12 major drains of the city. Officials told in the meeting that out of total 169 drains in the district, cleaning of 153 has been completed and work on the rest is going on at a fast pace.
Keep a close eye on landslide zone and special plan for pregnant women
Talking about hilly roads and sensitive areas, 12 landslide zones and chronic slip zones have been identified in Dehradun district. A long-term plan has been asked to reduce the risk of landslides on highly sensitive roads like Kimadi. In fact, the biggest concern is for those remote villages which get cut off from the main roads during the rains. The administration has identified 73 villages where connectivity problems may arise. To ensure that the pregnant women of these villages do not face any problems at the time of delivery, advance arrangements have been made to admit them to nearby hospitals before the monsoon, where the department will bear the expenses of their stay and food. Apart from this, 89 such schools which are affected during monsoon have also been identified which have rivers and streams on their way.
Health department will deal with dengue and malaria, war room will be active 24 hours
To prevent diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya that develop after waterlogging, the health department has been instructed to start fogging and awareness campaigns from now on. 18 water leakage points revealed during leakage mapping are also being repaired so that drinking water does not get contaminated. Along with this, the Forest Department has been asked to take action to prevent accidents due to falling of dilapidated trees in strong winds. From now on, the War Room and Control Room of the District Disaster Management Authority will be active 24×7 for quick action in case of disaster.
After the meeting, Principal Secretary Dr. R. Meenakshi Sundaram herself went to the field along with District Magistrate Dr. Ashish Chauhan and took stock of the situation. He conducted on-site inspection of Karligad and Majhada area and saw the rehabilitation and river channelization works going on there, so that the ground reality could be accurately assessed.
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