*Over 23000 cases of DPs cleared for release of payment
Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Apr 30: In a meeting held at Raj Bhavan, Governor Satya Pal Malik reviewed the progress of construction of bunkers, which have salience for the people living in the border districts, especially during escalation of border tensions.
Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, K. Vijay Kumar, Advisors to Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Umang Narula, Principal Secretary to Governor; Shaleen Kabra Principal Secretary Home; Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, were among those present in the meeting.
Governor was informed that 10,260 number of bunkers are to be constructed in the border districts viz. Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch. These are being executed by the PWD and Rural Development Department and till date, 2041 bunkers have been completed and work plan has also been prepared to accomplish the remaining assignment in a time bound manner.
Governor expressed his satisfaction over the progress in execution observing that in the past the construction of bunkers had remained sluggish which has gained traction during the recent months. However the executing agencies and Deputy Commissioners were directed to accord primacy to the construction of bunkers – it is a strong felt need in the border areas. 215 bunkers in the districts Samba and Poonch which were being executed by PWD and have remained un- allotted/untendered were decided to be constructed through RDD to ensure their speedy completion.
With regard to ex-gratia relief to the victims of cross border firing, Governor was informed that the relief has been paid in respect of all the eligible/ approved cases of death, permanent disability, injuries and damage to crops, houses and livestock, upto March 2019. The assistance has also been provided under SRE in respect of 73 cases and central assistance to 50 cases.
He expressed his satisfaction, especially with regard to disposal of relief cases of the DPs of 1947, 1965 and 1971 after being informed that out of 26,000 families which had applied, the cases in respect of 23,576 families have already been sanctioned for release of payment, which is made directly into the accounts of the recipients.
Meanwhile, Governor chaired a high level meeting to review the status of Jhelum River Flood Protection Works and the flood response mechanism being put in place by various departments/ agencies in Kashmir Division.
He emphasised the need for seamless coordination and synergy among various departments/ agencies like Irrigation and Flood Control, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction Departments, Divisional and District Administration, Police, Army, CRPF and Voluntary Organizations to enable dealing with disasters like floods cohesively, promptly and in a befitting manner.
It was directed that the Departments, Divisional and District Administration shall ensure to be ready with their response in the form of a composite plan which can be put into action as and when required to tackle the challenges on account of a disaster like flood swiftly, cohesively and without any hassle, much to the convenience of the people.
Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir in his detailed briefing submitted the measures taken by the Divisional and District Administrations post 2014 floods and flood like situation of 2018 to address the gaps in effective flood preparedness.
The Commissioner/ Secretary, PHE and I&FC informed about the Jhelum River Flood preparedness including the short and long term measures being undertaken, status of implementation of the Comprehensive Flood Mitigation Plan, strengthening of the flood forecast, monitoring and response system in the division.
Secretary, DMRR&R briefed about the steps being taken for operationalization of the State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) at Humhama Srinagar. He was directed to take all the required steps for fitting the SEOC at Humhama with state of art equipment to ensure its 24×7 functioning including VSAT communication and Generator Sets.
The Secretary, DMRR&R was directed to review the availability of rescue equipment with the districts and SDRF officials and immediately project requirements, so that funds can be sanctioned for procurement of the same under SDRF. To facilitate coordination in the matters relating to control room, evacuation, rescue and relief, the Divisional and District Administration were asked to prepare for communication redundancies and those related to essential supplies including power, ration, fuel and medicine.
The DCs were instructed to undertake a mock drill simulating a disaster like situation and involving all concerned departments and also including village and ward level committees & volunteers to assess the level of preparedness and measures required to strengthen the same. He stressed upon community participation and greater involvement of local volunteers in handling disasters.
The Chief Secretary directed the Divisional Administration/ DCs to draw up a check list detailing the elements of the action plan on mitigation of floods/ other disasters for facility of convenient operation. The components of the Check list will interalia include EoC centre, district control room, police control room, alert system, weather alert, information sharing with different departments and public so as to give correct feedback, rescue equipment, communication equipment, relief measures, availability of sufficient accommodation/ shelters with all basic facilities besides storage tanks, mobile toilets, public address system in shelters etc.
Chief Secretary stressed for planning a greater number of shelters with required facilities for the convenience of the families as may be affected by disasters. He also impressed upon undertaking only such disaster mitigation activities as are in sync with the Srinagar Master Plan. He asked the PWD to undertake survey of embankments of River Jhelum to ascertain as to whether any of the bridges require re-designing on account of river flow obstruction. He also asked the PWD to mark the bridges on river Jhelum to easily help the people in discerning the water levels in their areas.
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