SRINAGAR Monsoon arrived in Jammu and Kashmir a week ahead of its schedule this year, as intermittent light rains lashed several parts of the state bringing the mercury down by several notches, much to the respite of people reeling under sweltering heat.
The denizens of Jammu woke up to a pleasant weather condition after scattered light rains lashed the city of temples as Monsoon hit the state last evening. The day temperature in the Jammu city fell by five notches to settle at 28.0 degrees Celsius, 9.7 notches below, normal for this part of the season, an official of the Met department said.
He said the night temperature also recorded a dip of about four notches and it settled at 23.9 degrees Celsius, 2.5 notches below average.
The official said the drop in the mercury was the result of early arrival of Monsoon which hit the state yesterday.
Normally, Monsoon arrives in the state in the first week of July, he said, adding intermittent rains will continue for the next couple of days — a good news for the local residents.
He said normal rains are expected during the Monsoon season which usually remains active till mid-September.
Bhadarwah township of Doda district in Jammu region recorded the highest 56.2 mm rainfall since last evening, while the Jammu city witnessed 2.4 mm of rains till 05.30 pm today.
Prepare Flood Mitigation Plan, DCs Told
For effective flood mitigation plan, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan today directed all Deputy Commissioners of the Kashmir Division to conduct Flood Disaster Mock Drills on tehsil levels.
The Divisional Commissioner issued these directions while reviewing the preparedness and arrangements for management of various disasters especially floods in the valley.
Deputy Commissioners informed the meeting through video conferencing about the preparations and arrangements for any natural calamity especially floods put in place in their respective districts.
Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Dr Syed Abid Rashid informed that 7 lakh cusecs of sand were uplifted in river Jhelum (passing through in Srinagar district) to increase its carrying capacity.
The Divisional Commissioner directed all Deputy Commissioners to conduct mock drills of the flood disaster in very tehsils and low-lying areas which were inundated in 2014 floods. For such drills, he also released one lakh rupees to each district administration.
He also directed them to prepare an inventory of resources, including men, low lying areas, Satellite Phones, availability of Geo quality of sandbags, JCBs, Ambulances, De-watering pumps, evacuation plan, storage of food items, List of Nodal Officers, water tankers, water supply schemes, NGOs working for disaster management, database of volunteers machinery & boats available from every department in their respective districts with location of control room and number of village level committees, identify locations for helipads, where helicopters can land in case of any eventuality and procurement of necessary items like bailey bridges within a week and send the complete information to Divisional Commissioner office positively for necessary action.
He also directed them to identify more volunteers for disaster management training in their respective districts.
During the meeting officers discussed the preparedness to deal with possible adverse weather eventualities. The Divisional Commissioner called for close coordination between various departments to deal with any calamity effectively at the time of emergency so that foolproof mechanism will be made and better services delivery to the people could be ensured.
Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Dr Syed Abid Rashid Shah, Director Disaster Management Aamir Ali, Director MET Sonum Lotus, Chief Engineer UEED, Joint Commissioner SMC, Joint Director CS&CA, Superintending Engineers from R&B, PDD, PHE, I&FC, SP telecom, SP Traffic, Deputy Director Fire & Emergency Services, SP Control room, Dy. Commandant SDRF and other concerned officers were present in the meeting, whereas all Deputy Commissioners of the valley participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
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