Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister on Thursday directed officials to work on a plan to set up more Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) in the state to obtain real-time data related to weather forecasts.
At present, there are 23 AWS stations in several places in the state including Shimla, Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Kufri.
With the recovery of one more body from the debris of a collapsed Shiv temple in Summer Hill area here, the death toll in the rain fury in Himachal Pradesh has climbed to 72, officials said on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Prof P L Sharma, chairman, Department of Mathematics, Himachal Pradesh University.
Meanwhile, presiding over a high-level meeting held here late Wednesday evening, Sukhu directed the concerned departments to take appropriate steps to increase the number of AWS and stressed for setting up a weather observatory centre in the state, a statement issued here on Thursday said.
Effective steps should be taken to fortify the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and updated equipment and technology should be provided to them during emergency situations, he said.
More hi-tech machinery to lift heavy structures and cutting heavy bar enforcements were required to save the lives trapped underneath in case of any mishap as witnessed in the capital recently, he said.
The CM said due to heavy rains, a large number of trees were uprooted in different areas of the state while directing officials to ensure proper cutting and disposal of these trees and logs.
He also directed the authorities to make arrangements for a standby helicopter to airlift the critically ill patients in Kullu district as roads are blocked.
Sukhu also sought information from the officers about the relief and rescue works being carried out in different areas of the state and directed to provide all possible help to the affected people.
Meanwhile, Army and NDRF teams on Thursday rescued nearly 300 people from marooned villages in Punjab’s Kapurthala district.
Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Karnail Singh said six teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army pressed six boats to rescue the people caught in the floods and all those evacuated have been shifted to relief camps.
A total of 22 villages have been affected by floods in the Beas river due to release of excess water from Bhakra Dam, he said while expressing hope that the situation would improve by Friday.
He said some flood affected people are living inside ‘dhusi bundhs’ (embankments) in ‘deras’ to look after their fields while nearly 40 people are reluctant to leave their marooned houses and their cattle.
Some parts of Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Rupnagar and Kapurthala districts were submerged following the release of excess water from the Pong and Bhakra dams this week.
The Army and NDRF teams were also assisting in the rescue and relief work in some of the affected areas of Gurdaspur district.
Medical teams in the district have been sent to houses via boats to check on people stuck in their homes for three days and those who don’t want to move out, said officials.
The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which manages the Bhakra and the Pong dams, on Wednesday said it will release excess water in a controlled manner for the next four to five days to take the level in their reservoirs to a safe limit.