Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz Sharif has directed the administrative machinery throughout the province to remain alert 24/7 in view of the monsoon season and possible floods.
He asked the commissioners to complete their preparations because of the threat of urban flooding. Timely evacuation of populations within the river bed should be a priority, he said and stressed removing encroachments inside river beds. In this regard, public representatives should also be taken on board to ensure timely evacuation of populations within river beds, he added.
He was presiding over a meeting to review arrangements made by the line departments in the wake of recent monsoon rains and flooding here on Wednesday. Director General Provincial Disaster Management Authority briefed the meeting about the arrangements. The commissioners reported the meeting about the pre-arrangements for dealing with possible floods in their districts.
Weather conditions are highly unpredictable and unusual, therefore, the level of preparation also requires extraordinary measures, he said and added that the preparedness should be conspicuous at the grassroots and any loophole should be plugged in without delay.
The CM said that the real challenge is to execute the plan and made it clear that he would take stern action if people face any difficulty.
He directed the commissioners to submit their reports after inspection of rivers’ embankments in their areas. He said that all arrangements should also be audited by a third party for authentic information and data at the government level. The third-party audit should be done with a professional approach, he added and ordered to establish an institutional mechanism for third-party audit.
He further said that in case of any sudden calamity, the Health department should have an ample supply of essential medicines, especially for the treatment of snake bites. Issues related to WASAs should be resolved without delay and constant liaisons be maintained with distribution companies to ensure power supply in the rainy season, he further said.
Member Provincial Assembly Zeeshan Rafiq, Principal Secretary to CM, secretary Irrigation, commissioner Lahore, secretary local government, secretary Housing, secretary Information, representatives of IV Corps, DG rescue 1122 and others attended the meeting .
