Ponnam reviews monsoon preparedness plan

Hyderabad: To enhance the measures needed to tackle the situations that arise during monsoon, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has advised the senior officials of the various departments to get prepared to deal with any eventuality during monsoon. He asked to take all kinds of preventive measures with advance planning so that the citizens do not face any inconvenience during the season.

The Minister issued directives to ensure readiness for any potential situations and emphasised on the officials to prioritise prevention of loss of life.

On Wednesday, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, GHMC mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, deputy mayor Mothe Srilata Shobhan Reddy, GHMC commissioner in-charge Amrapali Kata discussed the GHMC Monsoon Preparation Action Plan. During the meeting, they also discussed sanitation, veterinary, food safety, and Bakrid arrangements.

At the meeting, Amrapali apprised the Minister of the ongoing Monsoon preparation action plan for the rainy season under GHMC limits, which have been in progress for some time. She explained that they have already reviewed with the officials of the concerned departments and zonal commissioners on various occasions and are ready with all the arrangements well in advance.

Later, the officers of the respective departments briefed the Minister about the preparedness and the measures taken. The officers said that steps are being taken to solve the problem of water logging points by removing silt from the storm water lanes in advance of the monsoon season, 141 major water logging points have been identified within the GHMC limits and work has been undertaken to solve the problem.

The commissioner in-charge said that mobile emergency teams have been formed and steps have been taken to ensure that they work 24*7 with vigilance. She said “Nala safety audits have been taken to prevent accidents of vulnerable nalas and 203 officers have been appointed as nodal officers as in-charge officers for each area. It was explained that construction of bunds, boundary walls has been proposed in 12 locations in GHMC.”

The members of the legislature and corporators, irrespective of their party affiliation, must ensure that there is no loss of life and property during rains, Ponnam said, adding that the desilting of nalas should be done regularly and asked the officer to inform people against dumping garbage.

Moreover, the Minister said the sanitation management should be done smoothly and should be monitored within the field.

He advised the food safety officers that the quality and hygienic food should be provided in restaurants and hotels. It is suggested to send proposals to the government for one vehicle for each zone regarding food safety.

Meanwhile, the officials have been advised to make arrangements for the upcoming Bakrid festival.