District administration has begun taking preventive measures to contain any threat of flash flood in the city in view of Monsoon rains. The officials of various departments have been directed to carry out cleanliness of various localities, culverts, drains and other parts of the city. The DC has ordered that the low-lying areas situated close to the Swarnarekha and Kharkai rivers should be earmarked so that preventive action may be taken in case of heavy rains and flooding of such areas.
The special officers of all three municipal bodies, Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) and Jugsalai Municipality have been asked to be prepared.
This time the administration is planning to take preventive measures pre-hand so that horrors of the flood are not repeated. The administration is working on plans to ensure safety and better flood management system during the monsoon season.
“Though the rains in the city have been normal this time, we are working on a strategy to coordinate in such a way that there is no negative impact of rains in the city. We will also streamline the functioning of the Disaster Management Cell,” said the official.
The East Singhbhum administration has also decided to open up a control room that will coordinate with different agencies working to check the effects of incessant rains. “ We are taking preventive measures as this time we are not going to take any chances but steps are being taken to prepare an action plan to combat the flood situation. All the notified area committees will supervise the operations in their jurisdictions while the control room will keep in touch with them,” said a district official.
Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) officials said steps have been taken to meet the deadline. Moreover areas like Birsangar, Baridih Bustee, Carriage Colony and at certain places in Govindpur where people live in bustees in a great number drainage or sewerage system have gone haywire.
An official of Jugsalai Municipality on the condition of anonymity said that lack of adequate manpower and infrastructure are posing hurdles. “In most of the localities, there are temples. After the mass feast leftover food is dumped in a public place. It has become a regular affair. With limited workers' strength, we are not able to pay attention to every corner,” he noted.
"We have been asked to take immediate preventive measures or face the music from the administration. Every year Monsoon rains coupled with hailstorm create havoc in the city with drains overflowing leading to water clogging,” said an official.
The JNAC is entrusted with upkeep of the civic amenities in urban slums outside Tata Steel command area for a populace of over 5 lakhs. JNAC has 70 cleaning staff and takes on an ad-hoc basis further 20 to step up the cleaning of small drains.
The district administration had also launched a special awareness campaign through pamphlets among the locals explaining them about the symptoms of the vector borne diseases and steps to prevent it but there's no such campaign visible in the district, thus far.