Tamil Nadu: Dy CM reviews monsoon preparedness

Chairing the meeting, attended by key Ministers and top officials, at the Secretariat on Saturday, Udhayanidhi Stalin stressed on the strengthening of the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) by providing relevant data on details like spots prone to water stagnation, location of relief centres, and the availability of pump sets to drain out water, boats and other appliances like tree cutters.

Referring to some mistakes made during the relief operations in the previous year, the Deputy Chief Minister said that kitchens should be set up close to places that were prone to water stagnation with a view to reaching food to people without delay. He also insisted on keeping at least 1000 milk sachets and 100 loaves of bread in every ward.

Aavin officials should be instructed to supply milk sachets to Corporation councilors, MLAs and officials when they approached them and also ensure that there was no hitch in transporting milk sachets from the production centres in Ambattur, Madhavaram and Kakkalur in Chennai, as it happened last year when the milk could not be reached to the flood affected people, he said.

Urging the electricity board officials to raise the level of the junction boxes before the monsoon sets in and to use generators to provide electricity to the streets when power supply was cut due to water stagnation, he said marooned areas should be supplied water through tankers.

Since mobile phones were down, victims could not access help last year during the rains, the Deputy Chief Minister recommended the provision of wireless sets to Ministers, MLAs and officials coordinating the rescue and relief operations.

Insisting on the officials completing the work taken on clearing the storm water drains, desilting the water bodies, laying electricity cables, laying water supply pipelines and removing water hyacinth before the rains, he said no new work should be taken up without completing the ongoing work.

He told the Ministers and officials to rope people with a desire to mitigate the suffering of people in the rescue and relief operations and suggested the forming of WhatsApp groups in every ward with the MLA, officials, local body representatives, youth and volunteers to respond to the disaster demands quickly.

People living in dilapidated urban dwellings and in areas like the old tsunami housing colonies should be warned of the possible dangers and even evacuated to safer places and appliances like tree cutters should be kept ready across the vulnerable parts of the city and not in one place, he said.

Though the DMK government had managed many disasters including floods and the Coronavirus, this time there should be more planning in advance like keeping relief equipments and accessories like tree cutters, boats, and motor pumps spread out across the vulnerable areas and not in one place from where they would be taken of affected spots after the disaster..