Deputy Chief Minister promises to personally monitor flood situation daily from GCC control room during monsoon

Already, he has held meetings in August and September. On Saturday, he held his first meeting as Deputy CM and promised effective coordination during the rains.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin stressed on localised management of floods at a review meeting on northeast monsoon preparedness in Chennai and its suburbs on Saturday. Stating that he would personally monitor the flood situation, he also assured the Ministers and officials of daily control room visits to ensure effective coordination during the rains.

This is the first monsoon preparedness review meeting being conducted after Mr. Udhayanidhi was made Deputy Chief Minister. As a precursor to his elevation, he had already chaired these meetings at the Ripon Buildings in August and September with officials and local representatives.

At the meeting, Mr. Udhayanidhi asked officials to focus on completing ongoing projects before initiating new ones, to prevent unforeseen incidents. During last year’s rain, there were power cuts in many areas, and mobile phone network was non-functional, making communication for relief work difficult. “Wireless phones for use by Ministers, MLAs, and officials should be considered,” he said according to a press release.

“We have a ward-wise list of low-lying areas and localities prone to waterlogging. It is essential to distribute motor pumps and rescue boats to respective wards for safety,” the Deputy Chief Minister said instructing officials to expedite drainage and power works, besides work to clear canals, and distribute motor pumps and boats in areas likely to face waterlogging.

“During the last monsoon, food distribution to affected people was delayed due to centralised cooking. To avoid this, I request the setting up of kitchens near waterlogged areas to facilitate distribution of food on time,” Mr. Udhayanidhi said. “Similarly, waterlogging caused difficulties in transporting milk packets. Inspections should be conducted and precautionary measures taken in these areas to avoid hassles,” he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister emphasised on avoiding delays in removing fallen trees by deploying more personnel and stocking additional tree-cutting equipment and tools. He also called for elevated repositioning of EB boxes in low-lying areas and supplying drinking water via tanker lorries during waterlogging.

There was a proposal to create ward-based WhatsApp groups for facilitating rescue operations and food distribution, with the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) coordinating relief efforts. The progress of stormwater drain construction work in the city was also discussed at the meeting.

The review meeting on northeast monsoon preparedness, led by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, was attended by Ministers K.N. Nehru, E.V. Velu, T.M Anbarasan, V. Senthilbalaji, Ma. Subramanian, P.K. Sekarbabu, S.M. Nasar, Chennai Mayor R. Priya, Chief Secretary N. Muruganandam, and other key officials.

Published - October 05, 2024 10:27 pm IST