Kolkata: The state government has initiated preparation to avoid loss of lives and damage to properties, including evacuation of people residing at vulnerable areas before September 26, with a forecast of heavy rainfall in the next week due to formation of a 'low pressure trough after the cyclone Gulab passes towards Andhra Pradesh' without making significant impact on Bengal.
The state government has also cancelled leaves of all its employees till October 5. Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi held a high-level meeting with top brass of concerned departments including Home, Disaster Management, Irrigation, Panchayat and Rural Development and south Bengal district authorities on Saturday and chalked out an elaborate plan to combat the situation when a major part of south Bengal districts already faced heavy inundation due to incessant rainfall in the past few days.
Directions have been given to carry out miking to aware people in riverine and coastal areas. Fishermen were alerted not to venture out to sea till October 5.
Senior officers would be posted at control rooms in both state (at Nabanna and Irrigation department) and district level from Saturday itself. Irrigation department has been directed to maintain close monitoring of embankments at vulnerable areas and to undertake immediate repairs if it is damaged.
With repeated incidents of death after getting electrocuted at the heavily inundated areas, all power utilities have been directed to take measures to avoid such incidents.
Strict steps would be taken if dereliction in their part would lead to any such incident. Adequate quantity of drinking water pouches, dry food, tarpaulin, clothes and medicines would be kept in stock.
Meanwhile, the state government handed over a report containing details of damage worth Rs 10,000 crore due to heavy rainfall in the past few days to a central team headed by Joint Commissioner of Ministry of Home Affairs Sunil Kumar Barnwal at Nabanna. Two teams of central teams visited affected areas including Ghatal in West Midnapore and Arambagh in Hooghly before the meeting at Nabanna.
The team will visit Amta and Udaynarayanpur in Howrah on Sunday.