Chief Secretary reviews J&K’s disaster preparedness

Jammu, Dec 1: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo Sunday held a detailed meeting of the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (DMRR&R) to take an assessment of its measures taken for disaster mitigation in J&K.

Dulloo took this occasion to impress upon the department to further gear up for making action plans regarding different disasters that J&K is vulnerable to.

He urged them to make the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) functional by the end of this fiscal as it has added a role at the time of disasters.

The chief secretary emphasised the expeditions carried out to study Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) by visiting different mountainous lakes here.

He called for training students and other volunteers to enhance their ability to play their role during relief activities.

The Principal Secretary, DMRR&R, Chandraker Bharti informed the meeting about different activities and achievements including strengthening of J&K, divisional, and district-level disaster management authorities by deploying necessary manpower there.

He also revealed that DDMPs for the year 2024-25 of all 20 districts had been updated.

Other hazard-specific plans like the Heat Wave Action Plan, Flood Management Action Plan, and Cold Wave Action Plan had been prepared with the Development of Landslide Management Plan under process.

It was said that an EOC had temporarily been established at Srinagar with its permanent campus coming up at Ompura in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.

The department has also launched an Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) with a toll-free number of 112 for receiving disaster response calls.

Other initiatives and activities of the department that were discussed here include Common Alert Protocol (CAP) by integrating alert-generating agencies IMD, CWC, INCOIS, DGRE, FSI, and disseminating these alerts about disasters through TSPs, TV, radio, cable TV, social media, Indian Railways, and coastal sirens.

A total of 118 alerts have been disseminated to date, the meeting was informed.

Earlier, a presentation was also made about the benefits and plans devised for the welfare of different categories of migrants from the Kashmir and Jammu divisions.