The district unit of the State Disaster Management Authority will be opened at Peerumade on Thursday. The unit will function from the present taluk office building and will have trained personnel under a deputy tahasildar monitoring and ready to respond to any emergency situation.
The staff of the unit, which was functioning at the district collectorate in Painavu, will be posted at Peerumade. The taluk office will be shifted to the civil station.
With the opening of the office, it is expected that the delays in responding to emergency situations and natural calamities in the High Ranges, especially during the monsoon season, can be minimised. Also, the office is strategically located—in the area of the Mullaperiyar dam and the landslide-prone Kumily-Kottayam State highway.
An official at the district collectorate said that in the first phase, the services of 50 trained police officials would be made available at the disaster management unit. Modern equipment for conducting rescue operations will also be provided.
It has been long standing demand of the people of the area to open an office of the Fire and Rescue Services at Kuttikkanam or Peerumade. There were allegations that there was a time delay in responding to the Thekkady boat tragedy last year.
It has also been decided to increase the number of trained personnel to 500. The staff quarters will be constructed in the land owned by the Home Department at Kuttikanam.
The official said that the State Disaster Management Unit was allotted at Peerumade in consideration of the topography and locational advantage in responding to an emergency situation.
Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran will inaugurate the unit at 8 a.m. on Thursday.
