The exercise to clear silt accumulation from drainage canals taken up ahead of the onset of the North East monsoon would be completed within a week in delta districts, Commissioner of Revenue Administration and Disaster Management K. Phanindra Reddy said on Thursday.
The State, Mr. Reddy said, had received more than normal rainfall during the South West monsoon and the North East monsoon is also expected to bring in normal average rainfall. Precautionary measures were being taken in view of this and senior IAS officials have been nominated as monitoring officers and they have fanned out to the districts to review the measures.
Mr. Reddy, who had been reviewing the monsoon preparedness in the core delta districts over the past two days, said that 98% of the desilting works had been completed in Tiruvarur. In Nagapattinam, 90% of the works had been completed and in Mayiladuthurai 80% work had been executed. The remaining works would be completed within a week, he said speaking to reporters after reviewing the monsoon preparedness in the respective districts.
All the 12 cyclone shelters and five multi-purpose disaster relief centres in Nagapattinam district have been inspected to ensure that all necessary basic amenities were available there. This apart, there were 100 community centres, 73 marriage halls and 29 cyclone warning centres in the district. About 130 low lying/vulnerable areas have been identified in the district and contingency plans for evacuation, if necessary, were ready. About 215 women and 2,366 men have been identified as first responders, who would alert the officials in case of emergencies and also coordinate relief and rescue efforts, in the villages in the district.
Tiruvarur
In Tiruvarur district, 212 low lying areas have been identified. Eight zonal committees, each headed by officers in the rank of sub-collectors, have been constituted. There were 3,180 first responders in the district.
The 11 cyclone shelters and four multi-purpose disaster relief centres in Mayiladuthurai district have been kept ready. About 45 low-lying areas have been identified in the district and 3,784 persons would act as first responders. Three zonal-level committees and four monitoring committees of officials have been formed.
Thanjavur
In Thanjavur district, 195 places have been identified as vulnerable. The Public Works Department has taken up desilting works on drainage canals for a total length of 1,169 km and the Thanjavur Corporation for a length of 1,069 km, Mr. Reddy said.
Coordination committees, comprising officials of all departments, have been formed in the districts to be activated during the emergency situations. Equipment such as sand bags, casuarinas poles and rescue equipment have been kept ready. Control rooms have been established at the respective district headquarters and they can be accessed round-the-clock by dialling 1077.
