Shimla town divided into five sectors to tackle snow woes

To ensure that there is no inconvenience to the public during snowfall, the district administration has divided Shimla town into five sectors.

A meeting in this regard was held here today under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anupam Kashyap. The DC said a nodal officer had been deployed in every sector so that the work could be done properly. He instructed officials to ensure active participation of all concerned with quick response so that the public did not face any problem.

He ordered the removal of vehicles parked on both sides of the national highway near Shoghi as this causes difficulty in removing snow. Apart from this, he directed to conduct a trial of the machines used in removing snow.

The Fire Department was directed to issue an advisory to make people aware about avoiding sleeping with a burning stove and to switch off all electrical appliances, especially heaters, properly. Apart from this, he directed the special team of the Home Guards to remain active with all necessary equipment from December 15 to deal with any adverse situation.

He also directed the officials concerned to conduct an audit check of heritage buildings and hold a meeting with the Hotel Association in this regard. All Sub-Divisional Magistrates have been told to prepare a contingency plan by organising such meetings in their respective areas.

Directions have been issued to ensure the timely storage of essential items like ration, gas cylinder and diesel in their area in time, besides availability of medicines and essential items in all health institutions. Considering the remoteness of the area, six months ration and other essential items have been made available in the Dodra Kwar area.

Directions have been issued to keep the roads leading to the helipads through so that air assistance can be delivered to the area concerned during any disaster. Officials of Jal Shakti, Electricity and Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited have been told to maintain smooth supply of drinking water and uninterrupted electricity during snowfall. During snowfall, the priority will be to open the roads leading to hospitals and use of chains on the tyres of ambulances for emergency services.

The DC also directed the Shimla Municipal Corporation to repair all the street-lights in the city in time. The District Emergency Operations Centre is being operated 24x7 by the District Disaster Management Authority in which information about any disaster can be given on toll-free number 1077.

Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said the Police Department had already identified such places where problems are faced during snowfall. Apart from this, the department’s traffic plan is ready for such weather and geo mapping of the entire area has been done.