Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar reviews winter preparedness in districts

Jammu : Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar today chaired a meeting of heads of the departments and Deputy Commissioners to review the winter preparedness in the districts of the division.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar, Dr Devansh Yadav; Deputy Commissioner Poonch, InderJeet; Deputy Director Planning, Munish Dutta; Chief Engineers of Jal Shakti, PWD, Mechanical Engineering Department, PMGSY, JPDCL, Deputy Director FCS&CA, Deputy Director Health Services, besides senior officers BRO, NHAI, NHIDCL, Oil Companies, Traffic Police and other concerned officers while other Deputy Commissioners of Jammu division along with concerned officers attended the meeting through video conferencing.

The Div Com took district wise review of preparedness in the districts regarding maintenance of National Highways, Link roads, water, power supply scenario, snow clearance and overall winter arrangemnts.

While reviewing winter preparedness for clearance of roads, the Div Com directed PWD, NHAI, BRO, MED to ensure tenders are floated for maintenance and ensure quick clearance during snowfall in the districts.

He also stressed that the roads leading to tourist destinations should be cleared on priority so that tourists don’t face any inconvenience.The Deputy Commissioners apprised the Divisional Commissioner about the water, power supply position, availability of ration, fuel, LPG and other essentials in their respective districts.

Reviewing the power supply scenario in each district, the Chief Engineer PDD informed about the areas prone to breakdowns during the winters. He informed that necessary buffer stock has been maintained in districts for replacement of damaged transformers in the shortest possible time.

The Div Com instructed the Engineers of JPDCL to keep men and machinery ready for restoration of power supply in case of disruption due to snowfall.The Div Com had a detailed review of the snow clearance mechanism of NHAI, PWD, PMGSY and BRO.

The concerned Chief Engineers gave information about the roads which get affected during snowfall. The Chief Engineer PMGSY said that the department has deployed an adequate number of machines for snow clearance in these areas.

The Div Com directed the concerned Engineers to make special arrangements for snow clearance in the districts which experience heavy snowfall to keep the roads traffic worthy.The Heads of the Departments and Deputy Commissioners were asked to activate 24×7 Divisional and district level control rooms and notify helpline numbers and put them in public domain.

The HODs were asked to issue duty rosters of staff on a regular basis and maintain adequate stocking of essentials to avoid shortage during traffic disruption due to snowfall.He sought details of availability of food grains, LPG, medicines and other essential commodities in the districts.

The concerned officers apprised the Div Com that sufficient stocks of essentials are available in their respective districts.The Div Com also passed directions to the health department to keep an adequate stock of life saving medicines, surgical equipment and other necessary medicines to avoid deficiency in the districts, besides ensure adequate heating arrangements in health care institutions, Hospitals.

The Div Com instructed the DCs to hold a meeting with all the concerned officers and formulate comprehensive winter preparedness plans. The DCs were also told to put in place a quick response mechanism to maintain essential services so that people don’t face any inconvenience.

He also advised DCs to prepare disaster Management Plan and identify volunteers for quick response during any exigency. The snow bound Highway districts were directed to identify suitable shelter locations to use them during road blockade.