In order to ensure that no loss of life or property takes place due to vagaries of weather, the deputy commissioner, Aashika Jain swung into action in the early morning. After monitoring whole night rescue operations being conducted by the administrative teams.
She convened a meeting in the early morning, today, and visited the Dera Bassi and Kharar sub divisions and asked the officers to ensure foolproof arrangements besides responding immediately to distress calls.
The Deputy Commissioner, who reviewed the relief works and de-watering activities in a high level meeting held in the wee hours of Sunday morning, ordered the officers to immediately attend distress calls and expedite de-watering in urban and rural areas as well to remove the obstructions in the smooth flow of storm water.
She asked the local bodies and panchayat departments to ensure action on critical points immediately without fail. She laid stress that the residents have high hopes from the administration so we pay immediate heed to their problems in this time of distress.
She asked the administrative team to immediately identify the low lying areas and unplanned colonies where the De-watering needs immediate attention. Asking the MCs and SDMs to ensure alternate numbers in addition to the existing landlines for respective district, Sub Divisions and Municipal control rooms.
She said that the landline services may hamper due to water logging, so we should be ready with other communication plans too. She said that the power stations and other such emergency service areas must be de-watered on priority to ensure essential services, whenever they get a distress call from any of these.
Hailing the officials on duty for the last 24 hours, she said the time demands our sincerity and dedication in our duty so we have to work together till the situation is under control. She said that we have been continuosly monitoring the flow of Ghaggar and Sukhna Choe in Derabassi Sub Division and the critical point of Village Tiwana has a plenty of sans bags in case of any emergency including manpower.
“We are roping in six NDRF teams as a preventive measure to reduce the action time, to be stationed at Mohali and other sub divisions and one at Derabassi's Tiwana point of Ghaggar embankment", she added. The NDRF teams helped in evacuation at Tiwana point of Ghaggar besides at Rurka Village of Mohali.
"Busses have been stationed and kept ready at Sub Divisional headquarters for pressing them in immediately into action," she further added. Medical teams, Animal Husbandry teams have already been asked to be ready,".
She appealed to the residents adjacent to Ghaggar and Sukhna Choe in the district to be vigilant in wake of increasing flow of water. Later on, the DC Aashika Jain also visited Kharar and Derabassi sub divisions to take stock of the relief activities.
Apart from that the ADCs Damanjit Singh Mann, Paramdeep Singh, Amit Kumar Bamby, SDMs Himanshu Gupta Derabassi, Ravinder Singh Kharar and Sarabjit Kaur Mohali including DRO Gurjinder Singh Benipal and XEN Drainage Rajat Grover also remained in the field to oversee the rescue operations.
"We have sufficient number of boats and other rescue material like dry ration, medicines, fuel etc. and we are taking almost all distress calls on priority," added Ashika Jain.
The district administration has also issued mobile helplines in addition to pre-existing landlines-Mohali-0172-2219505, Derabassi-01762-283224, Kahrar-0160-2280853. In case of non-working of landlines, one can dial the mobile numbers, Mohali - 76580-51209, 73476-61642, Kharar-94642-34000 and Derabassi - 98550-25466, 79733-60184.