LG chairs emergency meeting, reviews monsoon preparedness; civil servants’ leave is canceled

New Delhi: Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Friday took stock of the situation in Delhi after hours of rain paralysed the city and asked officials to set up an emergency control room and deploy static pumps to respond to reports of waterlogging.

Chairing an emergency meeting, the LG said all senior officers on leave should be asked to report for duty immediately and no leave should be allowed for the next two months, according to his office.

Saxena also took note of the lack of preparedness and emergency response system in the national capital, the LG office said.

Senior officials from civic agencies such as Delhi Jal Board, Public Works Department, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority, Irrigation and Flood Control Department and Delhi Police attended in the meeting.

Saxena said the desilting of the drains was yet to be completed and the flood control order was yet to be issued. He asked the authorities to undertake the desilting work urgently within the next week, the LG’s office said.

The local government has asked officials to set up an emergency control room for flood complaints. The control room will be manned 24/7 by senior officials, he said.

He also directed various agencies to deploy static pumps and field personnel to drain water from the roads.

The irrigation and flood control department has been directed to stay in touch with its counterparts in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to assess rainfall levels and flows from the Hathnikund dam, officials said.

They said the LG had directed the revenue department to activate the disaster response cell under the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in case of excessive rainfall and seek help from the National Force National Disaster Response Facility (NDRF) for any emergency measures during monsoon.