HYDERABAD, Telangana: KT Rama Rao, Minister of Municipal Administration directed all senior municipal officials to make sure that all necessary preparations are in place to meet any disaster induced contingencies in Hyderabad city.
Rao while reviewing monsoon preparedness asked to enhance all essential measures to cope up with any upcoming crisis during the monsoon spell in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and all other local bodies in the state. However, the review meeting primarily focused on the preparation for any potential flash flood incidents and excessive rains. Arvind Kumar, Special Chief Secretary, MA&UD, DS Lokesh Kumar, Commissioner, GHMC, Dana Kishore, Managing Director, HMWS&SB and others were also present during the review meeting.
Senior officials from MA&UD also informed the minister about the existing crisis mitigation strategies. Officials informed that the safety audit of all nalas, under the jurisdiction of GHMC and other local bodies, has been completed successfully.
The minister also asked about the status of the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP), specially introduced to address the issue of urban flooding in and around GHMC. He was briefed that the majority of works initiated as part of the SNDP have been completed. Also, areas damaged in last year’s monsoon are now in a far better position to tackle similar situations this year.
Officials were also asked to employ dewatering pumps and other such resources in identified low lying areas and keep a constant vigil on the water level in ponds and lakes to prevent overflow. While reviewing the Ward Office system, Rao highlighted that the initiatives could encounter some hurdles as they are still in the inception stages so he asked the GHMC’s Zonal Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to take proactive measures to deal with such situations.