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To take stock of the situation due to continuous heavy rains across the state and in hilly places and to speed up the relief work in the state, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma on Monday, chaired a high-level meeting with the administrative secretaries of the concerned departments and the Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of all the districts through video conferencing. In the meeting, Special Chief Secretary to Chief Minister A. Venu Prasad, D.G.P. Gaurav Yadav, and Representatives of the Army and NDRF were also present.
Chief Secretary Mr. Verma said that following the instructions given by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to monitor the situation in the state and deal with the possible threat of floods, the civil and police administration of the districts have been promptly deployed in the field, including the DCs, SSPs, SDMs, Tehsildars, BDPOs, Patwari besides field officers of respective departments are involved too. He said that field officers should maintain constant contact with public representatives and common people. He said that there is no dearth of funds to deal with the current situation and Rs. 33.50 Crore has been released immediately from the disaster relief fund of the state.
In the meeting, the Water Resources Department gave information about the state of reservoirs across the state. The water level in Bhakra Dam is 1614.89 feet while the capacity is 1680 feet. Similarly, the water level in Pong Dam is 1350.63 feet while the capacity is 1390 feet. The water level in Ranjit Sagar Dam is 1706.26 feet while the capacity is 1731.99 feet.
Anurag Verma said that human lives are the most precious and saving them is the top priority. He said that priority should be given to the safe evacuation of people from low-water areas and flood-prone areas and people should also be made aware. Similarly, the Food and Civil Supplies Department was asked to prepare food packets if needed. Necessary government funds should be used in coordination with religious and social organizations for this work. He asked the Power and Telecom Department to ensure uninterrupted continuity of its services. The water supply department should also ensure the provision of clean drinking water to the people. Health department should be prepared to fight waterborne diseases.
On this occasion, the Chief Secretary asked for the immediate release of funds for chlorine tablets. Animal husbandry department was asked to make advance arrangements to protect livestock from diseases. The Rural Development and Panchayat and Local Government Departments with their representatives were asked to be ready to help the people in cities and villages.
The Chief Secretary took stock of the field situation in which the Deputy Commissioners of SAS Nagar, Patiala, Rupnagar and Sangrur said that the situation is serious in some places in their districts, but the administration is working promptly. The Chief Secretary told all the districts that the assistance required should be brought to his notice. On this occasion, the NDRF Commandant said that 14 NDRF teams were deployed in Punjab. In Rupnagar four teams are now deployed, on the request of the Deputy Commissioner. Instructions were also given to deploy another team.
In the meeting, the Chief Secretary spoke to the Commissioners of all the Municipal Corporations and reviewed the status of the corporation cities. He said that it should be ensured that necessary services are provided to the residents of the cities.
The districts of Kapurthala, Tarn Taran, and Moga where the situation is still under full control have been asked to monitor the situation by making advance arrangements as the water level in the rivers is rising due to rains in the hilly areas. Similarly, given the current situation, continuous communication is being maintained with the Army.
The meeting was attended by Special Chief Secretary Revenue KAP Sinha, Principal Secretary Water Supply and Sanitation Jaspreet Talwar, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare VP Singh, Principal Secretary Finance AK Sinha, Principal Secretary Water Resources Krishan Kumar, Principal Secretary PWD Nil Kanth S Avhad, Secretary Local Government Ajoy Sharma, Secretary Food and Civil Supplies Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Secretary Home Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, Secretary Finance Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, Secretary Information and Public Relations Malwinder Singh Jaggi, Chief Minister’s Special Principal Secretary Ravi Bhagat, Special Secretary Revenue Dr. Amarpal Singh, Director Rural Development and Panchayat Gurpreet Singh Khaira, Director Information and Public Relations Department and Special Secretary Power Bhupinder Singh, Director Animal Husbandry Dr. Ram Pal Mittal. Representative of Western Command and Adviser Civil Military Affairs Colonel JS Sandhu and NDRF Commandant Santosh Kumar.
