Mysuru: While Kodagu is still recovering from the floods and landslides caused by the last monsoon, which was the heaviest it had received in 118 years, pre-monsoon showers have already intensified over the region, prompting the district administration to hurry and put together a machinery to deal with a similar situation should it arise.
Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy is trying to make sure there is no repeat of last year's disaster by taking measures to ensure the safety of the people and keeping emergency services on stand-by.
“We have already held a meeting of district and taluk officers and an emergency relief response and recovery committee has been formed in the district, taluks and villages, in addition to an early warning and evacuation committee, search and rescue committee, committees for relief management and to manage emergency shelter homes or relief centres, first aid and mass casualty management committee, committees for damage assessment, reconstruction and rehabilitation and even an animal protection and carcass management committee," she said
Officers of the Geological Survey of India are meanwhile, identifying and listing the sensitive areas and at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, the minor irrigation department was told to form a special team to desilt waterways to avoid flooding in the district.
The PWD, NHAI and Panchayat Raj engineering department are clearing blocked pipelines too, according to her .
In addition, the district administrative staff have received training in disaster managed from the GSI, UNICEF, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre, Administrative Training Institute, District Training Institute and Christ University.
“On our request, an NDRF team will be arriving in Kodagu by the end of May to extend necessary support," Ms Annies added. The floods and landslides had claimed 20 lives, and destroyed homes of 829 people in the district last year as plantations , farmlands and several thousand kilometers of roads bore the brunt of the deluge in the district.
