Dehradun: In view of the upcoming Chardham Yatra and monsoon season, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority has become active. In this connection, Vinay Kumar Ruhela, Vice President of the State Disaster Management Advisory Committee, while giving instructions in the review meeting held on Saturday, said that the next five months are challenging. Therefore, preparations should be kept strong at every level to deal with any emergency. It should be ensured that the passengers and local residents do not face any kind of problem during the Chardham Yatra and monsoon period.
In a virtual meeting with disaster management officials of all the districts from the Emergency Operations Center located at IT Park of the State Disaster Management Authority, Ruhela examined the preparations for Chardham Yatra and monsoon. He said that even the smallest facilities of the passengers should be taken care of during the journey, so that they return home with a good message.
He also asked to mark the landslide prone areas and put up signage there for security and ensure the arrangement of JCB and other equipment there round the clock. Also, instructions were given to expedite the process of making the roads pothole-free, so that there are no problems due to waterlogging in the rainy season.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman asked all the districts to upload all the information in the NDMIS portal as soon as possible, so that there is no problem in getting funds from the Center. He said that under the guidance of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Disaster Management Department is in alert mode at every level.
He said that to prevent road accidents during the journey, it should be ensured that the movement of vehicles takes place only at the time prescribed by the administration. He said that if the passengers have to be stopped at any place due to road blockage during the Chardham Yatra, then the responsibility of proper arrangement of food and drink for them will be of the concerned local administration. He said that if the route has to be diverted due to any reason, then clear indicators should be installed for this.
He said that all necessary preparations should be completed by next month to effectively deal with the challenges and waterlogging of the rainy season. Whatever resources the departments have to deal with waterlogging, they should be identified and listed, so that they can be obtained when needed. He also asked to check and ensure verification of relief and rescue equipment available with police stations, tehsils and other departments. He also gave instructions to register FIR against those who spread misleading information during monsoon.
Create a database of ex-servicemen
The Disaster Management Secretary said that Uttarakhand is a soldier-dominated state. Ex-servicemen can play a big role in effectively dealing with disasters. To take advantage of their experience, it is necessary that all districts create a database of ex-servicemen and use their expertise in the field of disaster management.
Citing the instructions of the Chief Minister, he said that places for relief camps for the disaster affected should be selected from now on. There will be no shortage of funds for disaster relief work. In the meeting, USDMA ACEO Anand Swaroop stressed on keeping satellite phones in the districts as per the need and ACEO Rajkumar Negi stressed on classification of various roads.
