Rs. 25 crore sanctioned for flood protection and cleaning of drains
-Additional funds of worth Rs. 9.70 crore to deal with an emergency situation during the monsoon season
– 24×7 running Flood Control rooms set up at districts and tehsil level
– Any officer/ employee will not leave the station without permission
Chandigarh: In the wake of the monsoon season, Punjab Water Resources Minister Mr. Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria has directed the officials of his department to be ready to deal with any possible emergency like situation due to heavy rains. He said that all the officers and employees of the department would monitor the situation round the clock in the monsoon season, and no negligence will be tolerated.
Earlier, during the state level flood protection committee meeting, which was held on May 8, Mr. Sarkaria had directed that such meetings would be held in the month of February from the next year so that adequate flood protection arrangements can be get done on time.
In a statement issued from here, Mr. Sarkaria assured that the Water Resources and Revenue Department would discharge its duty with utmost honesty and responsibility to prevent the floods and strict action will be taken against any officer/employee in case of negligence. He said that the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s government is fully committed to protect the people of the state in any situation.
A spokesman of the Department said that Rs. 25 crore was sanctioned for urgent flood preventive works and the cleaning of drains in the meeting of the State Level Flood Control Board. Besides this amount, additional funds of Rs.9.70 crore, Rs.60 Lac per district heavy hit by flood and Rs.25 Lac per district for less affected, have been set aside to deal with any emergency like situation due to floods. These funds will be utilized in an emergency situation as per the instructions of the concerned Deputy Commissioners.
Giving detail about the preventive measures, the spokesman said the department has 45 machines, which have been deployed at different places for cleaning of drains. Apart from this, 24×7 hour running Flood Control Rooms have been set-up at district and tehsil level. These control rooms are connected with the State Flood Control Room set up at Head Office of Water Resources Department, Sector-18 and Civil Secretariat, Punjab, Chandigarh.
According to the spokesman, all arrangements have been made to inform the common people about any kind of emergency, such as heavy rainfall or additional water release from the Dams. He said that all the officers and employees of the department would not leave their stations without the permission of the competent authority. He assured that Punjab government has made adequate arrangements to tackle any adverse situation during the monsoon season and people’s lives and property will be fully protected.
