Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday constituted a high powered committee comprising three top officers of the state to supervise the relief and rescue operations in the flood affected districts of the state on a day to day basis. Chairing a high-level meeting to review the situation of floods, the Chief Minister said that the committee comprising senior officers of Revenue, Water Resources and Food and Civil Supplies department will remain permanently stationed at Amritsar and other flood affected districts permanently.
He asked the Deputy Commissioners and other officers to ensure that the directions of this high powered committee are implemented in right earnest to provide succor to the flood affected people. Bhagwant Singh Mann categorically said that the state government is fully committed to bail out the people in this hour of crisis and no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause.
The Chief Minister also asked the Chief Secretary to visit the flood affected areas and ensure the work of relief and rescue was carried on more effectively. He said that the Chief Secretary should tour the flood ravaged districts and ensure that the entire government machinery makes more efforts to serve the people.
Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the sole motive is to accelerate the relief operations so that people get major reprieve. The Chief Minister said that the heavy flow of water from hilly areas have created havoc for the state adding that 14.11 lakh cusec water has been received in river Ravi till date.
He said that this is the highest discharge the state had ever received as it was 11.20 lakh cusec when the state had witnessed severe floods in the year 1988. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government has already written to Haryana and Rajasthan to withdraw maximum water from the rivers.
The Chief Minister said that the Indian Army has been already deployed in the five flood affected districts and was conducting rescue operations along with the administration by using state of the art equipment and machinery. Bhagwant Singh Mann also said that 17 teams of NDRF have also been deployed for relief measures so that the flood affected people can be rescued.
He was apprised that continuous on-ground operations are going on to evacuate people stranded in floods, assess damage caused due to floods and check outbreak of disease, across all the flood-hit areas. The Chief Minister said that a strong multi-department workforce is working round the clock, on the ground, to complete the relief and rescue work.
Bhagwant Singh Mann directed that the breaches along the flooded rivers should be plugged and medical teams should provide preventive care against diseases in every village. He said that along with relief works teams should be ready to undertake water sampling, outdoor and indoor spray, water chlorination, fever survey, card tests for timely detection of malaria and dengue, distribution of sanitary napkins and mosquito nets in coming times.
The Chief Minister also said that the water supply and sanitation department should press in water tankers for providing clean and potable drinking water in the villages until the supply through water supply schemes is fully restored. Likewise, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that Water testing teams should check water quality in all the villages to avoid any epidemic outbreak.
He said that besides water, dry ration kits, sugar, rice, wheat flour, ghee, milk powder should be provided to the people in marooned villages. The Chief Minister said that pumping operations are already in progress on a war footing, inundated villages are being cleared of water.
He asked the Mandi Board and PWD (B&R) to carry out a detailed survey of the extent of damage to the bridges, roads and government buildings in flood affected areas. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that medical relief should be provided to the affected people in relief camps, medical camps and even at their doorsteps adding that Mobile Medical Units should be deployed in the villages to impart quality health facilities.
The Chief Minister also said that Dedicated anti larva teams should be deployed to detect dengue larva in flood-hit villages adding that special teams should visit villages to teach the people about measures to prevent diseases like malaria, dengue, diarrhoea, typhoid and skin problems, since community engagement is necessary to combat these diseases. Bhagwant Singh Mann further said that Veterinary teams should also be deployed in large numbers for the treatment and vaccination of the affected cattle, deworming of the animals and provision of feed/fodder.
He said that a major sanitization drive should be launched in the villages, fogging teams should be deployed to check the spread of water borne diseases while sanitary workers and MGNREGA workers should be assigned the task of professionally cleaning the villages adding that bleaching powder should be sprayed in the drains to ward off foul smell and prevent the outbreak of related diseases. Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Dr Ravjot, Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and others.