Himachal: Bilaspur deputy commissioner directs departments to prepare for monsoon

Bilaspur (HP), Jun 26 (PTI) The deputy commissioner of Bilaspur on Wednesday directed officers of various departments to prepare for monsoon-related activities and emphasised the need for coordination among them to mitigate potential losses in any emergency situation, a statement issued here said.

In the meeting, Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq directed the officers to appoint a nodal officer under the disaster management programme who will be available on the phone around the clock for information during any disaster, the statement said. Medical Superintendent of AIIMS, Bilaspur, Dr Dinesh said that soon the hospital will get Disaster Hospital Arogya Maitri from the central government to provide better health services in case of any disaster in the state under Project Bhishma.

Under Project Bhishma, in case of any disaster, a hospital can be set up in just eight minutes and treatment of patients can be started, Dr Dinesh said.

He added that all its materials come packed in 36 boxes, which weigh about 720 kg and are durable enough to withstand being dropped from a helicopter and are water-resistant. Dr Dinesh said that this hospital can be set up at the site of the disaster to save lives.

About 200 people can be treated simultaneously in this facility and the hospital includes everything from an operating theatre to a laboratory for X-rays, blood sample testing and ventilators, he said.

DC Sadiq welcomed this development and said that by getting such a project, other districts of the state will also benefit.

He said AIIMS Hospital has prepared a separate standard operating procedure to deal with the disaster, which will prove to be an important step for timely treatment of people during the disaster.

Apart from this, the control room of AIIMS Hospital will now be directly connected to the control room of the District Disaster Management and information can be shared directly, Sadiq said.

He directed the officials of the Public Works Department and the Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat of the district to complete the work of clearance of blocked drains in their areas soon so that there is no problem during the monsoon.

He also instructed the officials of the Electricity Board and Fire Department to complete the necessary procedures for rain preparedness in their respective areas so that relief can be provided immediately to affected areas when needed.

The Health and Family Welfare Department should keep the stock of medicines required for the treatment of water-borne diseases in all medical institutions in adequate quantity and be prepared to deal with diseases like malaria and dengue, the DC said.

He also directed the health department to develop pamphlets to raise awareness about water-borne diseases and ensure their distribution to every household through Asha workers. PTI COR BPL BHJ BHJ