Take stock of health infra, maintain strict vigil in border areas: CS directs DMs & police top brass

Kolkata: Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Sunday held a virtual meeting with the District Magistrates (DMs) and police top brass in the backdrop of the India-Pakistan tensions and issued instructions to take stock of health infrastructure and to keep food grains and other ration ready for the next three months to ensure zero food scarcity in case of an emergency situation.

During the meeting, the DMs and police top brass were directed to start stocking ration for June, July and August in godowns and the police were instructed to maintain strict vigil in the bordering areas of both North and South Bengal.

Officials from the Fire and Emergency Services, Food Supplies, Disaster Management and Civil Defence, Health, Power, among others were present at the meeting.

Instructions were given to take stock of health infrastructure such as hospital beds, ambulances, blood stock etc and make necessary arrangements to plug gaps, if any. The District Magistrates were also asked to stock relief materials for emergencies. Training for the civil defence volunteers has been initiated to equip them to handle an emergency situation. There will be separate control rooms in every district manned by experienced persons along with teams for supervision. The state had recently announced its plans for installing long range and short range sirens. The Chief Secretary took stock of the survey for installation of sirens. He stressed upon coordination among all departments for carrying out work efficiently at this crucial juncture.