Caretaker Minister for Communications and Excise Bilal Afzal has directed the Deputy Commissioners of Punjab to submit the plan to cope with floods to PDMA within two days.He was presiding over a meeting at the PDMA office on Thursday. The meeting reviewed arrangements to deal with upcoming monsoon rains and possible floods. Senior Member Board of Revenue/Relief Commissioner Punjab Nabeel Javed, PDMA DG Imran Qureshi and officers of related departments were also present.
Bilal Afzal said that effective capacity building was very important for disaster management, for which international donor organisations would be approached for cooperation. He said that an error-free model study should be conducted in the flooded areas of rivers. The provincial minister was briefed on river erosion at Talibwala Patan, District Sargodha on Chenab River.Colonel Moin highlighted the effectiveness of Pakistan Army’s survey unit. While giving a briefing on the flood fighting preparations, he said that a flood plan had been prepared to deal with the monsoon and flood hazards. He said that the flood season in Punjab prevails from June 15 to October 15.
He said, “The PDMA has a system in place to alert the deputy commissioners concerned before flood water enters their area. Mock exercises have been completed to check the preparedness of the departments. The data about every vulnerable village and city has also been compiled. From May to October, the control rooms of all districts are kept active 24 hours. At present, PDMA has more than 19,000 tents, 700 boats and other essential items to be used during floods.” Speaking about the issues, Imran Qureshi said that PDMA needs an air ambulance to deal with certain emergency anywhere in the province.
