SRINAGAR: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar today chaired an extraordinary meeting of different departments to review winter preparedness at Civil Secretariat here and took stock of various initiatives and works taken by these departments for winter preparedness across Kashmir division.
The meeting was attended by Commissioner, SMC, Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan; Additional Commissioner, Kashmir, Director, Health Services, Kashmir, Chief Engineers of R&B, Jal Shakti (PHE), PDD, PMGSY, Mechanical Engineering Department (MED) and other concerned officials of these departments.
He directed the concerned officers to make necessary arrangements well in advance and impressed upon the departmental heads to prepare action plan in consultation with each other.
While reviewing the preparedness of MED, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the concerned Chief Engineer to establish 24*7 control rooms in each district in order to meet any exigency due to heavy snowfall. He also asked them to deploy technical experts and engineers in each blocks or panchayats so that the roads and lanes in peripheral areas are cleared on time.
The Advisor also directed the Chief Engineer MED to follow proper SOPs while clearing snow on roads so as to avoid any kind of damage to roads. He also asked them to deploy machinery and required equipments in peripheral areas beforehand so as to avoid any eventuality in case of heavy snowfall.
While reviewing the preparedness of SMC, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the Commissioner to devise a plan at micro-level with all concerned departments to avoid any issue during operationalisation of machinery and other equipments during snow clearing process. He also directed the Commissioner to deploy required machinery and snow clearance equipments beforehand in each of the wards in Srinagar city.
The Advisor also asked the Commissioner SMC to place de-watering pumps at vulnerable points in advance so that there are less chances of water logging at these locations. He further asked him to devise a mechanism for clearing of snow falling from roof tops in inner lanes of the city.
Similarly, reviewing the preparedness of Health, R&B, Jal Shakti and other departments, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the officers to maintain close coordination and synergy while executing different plans both at micro and macro level.
The Advisor asked the officers that the roads leading to hospitals both in rural and urban areas as well as peripheral areas should be cleared on priority. He asked the director health services that advance supplies of medicines and other equipments should be made to those areas which are bound to be cut by heavy snowfall.
The Advisor also directed him that extra paramedical staff and doctors should be deployed in peripheral areas during winter months so as to provide sufficient health services to the people of far off areas. He further asked the director health to establish paediatric beds in all district and sub-district hospitals to meet any exigency in case of possible 3rd wave of Covid due to new variant Omnicron.
While reviewing the power scenario in Kashmir division for the winter months, Advisor Bhatnagar directed the Chief Engineer PDD to distribute additional electricity poles to those areas which are bound to remain cutoff due to snowfall. He also asked the Chief Engineer that 24*7 call centre for grievance redressal should be established to facilitate the general public.
The Advisor also impressed upon the Chief Engineer that the damage rate and repairing rate of transformers should be maintained, so as to reduce the chances of public outcry due to damaged transformers which is common in winter months due to overloading.
Remarking that Kashmir valley is witnessing an increasing flow of tourists in winter months, the Advisor directed the departmental heads to keep close coordination with the tourism development authorities so that the tourists don’t face any inconvenience during their stay here. He asked them to deploy machinery at main tourist locations for timely clearance of snow.
While reviewing the preparedness of Divisional Administration, the Advisor directed the officers to prepare a plan beforehand so that traffic chaos is avoided and run time of essential service vehicles is maintained. He also asked them to establish 24*7 divisional control room in coordination with the district control rooms.
During the meeting, the departmental heads apprised the Advisor about the steps taken by their respective departments for meeting any eventuality in case of heavy snowfall.
