ADMINISTRATION

Admn completes flood protection measures: DC
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, July 7 — The district administration today claimed to have completed all arrangements against flood protection during the coming rainy season with 10 flood control rooms being set up at district and subdivisional headquarters, The Municipal Corporation and the police headquarters, which would function round-the-clock till September 30.

Presiding over a meeting of the District Flood Control and Relief Committee here today, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.K.Sandhu, directed all the SDMs to personally check the functioning of the flood fighting equipment and submit the certificates within two days positively. He further instructed all officers and employees of departments concerned , not to proceed on leave and leave station till September 30, without prior permission of their senior officers and warned of strict disciplinary action against non-compliance.

Mr Sandhu informed that 99-km long Dhussi bandh along the Sutlej and a long stretch of Budha Nullah, passing through the district, could pose flood like problems and orders were issued to maintain strict vigil at all vulnerable points like Dhulewal, Mattewara, Kassabad, Khaira Bet and Talwandi. The Drainage Department, he said, had been asked to speed up the ongoing flood protection works on the Dhussi bandh and to make adequate arrangements of sand bags at sensitive points.

Giving details of the measures taken to provide immediate relief to the affected people in flood-hit areas, the Deputy Commissioner said that 165 evacuation centres had been identified, where arrangements were made for drinking water and lights. The social and religious organisations in the areas concerned, had been asked to keep the volunteers in preparedness to assist the flood affected people.

According to Mr Sandhu, the Health Department and the Animal Husbandry Departments had also made necessary arrangements to provide health cover to human beings and the cattle, respectively, and to check outbreak of epidemics. The Municipal Corporation had also been directed to ensure proper functioning of sewerage so that the rain water could be speedily drained out.