DC Anantnag discusses disaster management plan

ANANTNAG, SEPTEMBER 19: The Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Mohammad Younis Malik today chaired a meeting to discuss the disaster management plan of the district here at Dak Bunglow Khanabal.

While chairing the meeting, the DC said that the district is prone to multiple disasters which require proper strategizing of the disaster management plan. He said that besides man-made disasters, the district is prone to natural disasters – avalanches, floods, cloudbursts and earthquakes (Zone IV which is high damage risk zone).

The Deputy Commissioner said that despite district headquarter got inundated in 2014 floods, we are having ample resources to tackle the situation in a better way. He said that disaster mitigation demands prevention, preparedness, rescue and rehabilitation and it should be our joint endeavour to coordinate all these aspects.

He was informed that owing to the vulnerability of the district, the requisite mapping of spots and resources have been done. Besides, the District Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) has been established which shall temporarily function from PCR. Land for building permanent EOC has been identified at Sarnal Anantnag.  The EOCs have also been established at block and village levels which shall work as nodal centres for coordination, planning, resource mobilization and deployment and communication and information management.

The meeting was informed that under Incident Response System 16 taskforces have been constituted who have been tasked with different assignments. Besides, flood duty chart and zonal flood committees have also been constituted.

The SDRF has been entasked to build capacity and train the stakeholders for which it was directed to devise a training schedule.

A batch of 300 youngsters has volunteered for relief and rescue operations. In addition, the district Civil Defense Authority has the manpower of 215 home guards, 538 civil defence wardens, 3660 civil defence volunteers and 35 SDRF personnel’s, the meeting was told.

Around 94 schools have been identified by the CEO as disaster management centres besides the Boys College, TRC Qazigund, South Campus Kashmir University, SE Hydraulic Office, and Nunwan Base.

Meanwhile, the DC directed the concerned Departments to ensure the logistics and other materials in these disaster management centres. Besides, he directed all the officers to put in their best during the times of exigency besides, keeping men and other resources always active for meeting any challenge.

The meeting was attended by ADC Anantnag, CEOs of PDA, VDA and KDA, SEs of R&B, PHE and PDD, CMO, CEO, ACD, District Officers of Animal Husbandry, Agriculture, Fire & Emergency, ARTO, Tehsildars, EOs of Municipalities, BDOs and other concerned.