PNS | DEHRADUN
The chief secretary Radha Raturi has directed the Disaster Management department to deploy fire watchers in advance to prevent potential forest fire incidents in the upcoming summer season. She also directed to ensure community participation in controlling forest fires and instructed proper disposal of pine needles (Pirul) under various schemes to prevent potential forest fires caused by them. She stated this in a meeting held at the Secretariat on Wednesday. Raturi also directed the department to deploy disaster management volunteers at sensitive locations in the State. She also called for a State-level mock exercise on forest fire control, involving the Disaster Management department, Line departments and other agencies concerned.
As part of this, the department will conduct a tabletop exercise on February 11 followed by a full-scale mock drill on February 13 across 17 locations in seven districts. The officials informed Raturi that for the mock drill, 17 locations across Nainital, Almora, Champawat, Dehradun, Tehri, Uttarkashi and Pauri have been selected. She also instructed the inclusion of disaster management volunteers, youth organisations, women’s groups, the Scouts and Guides, Red Cross, NCC and NSS cadets, local residents, PRD personnel, fire watchers, elected representatives, Nehru Youth Centre, students, Asha workers and NGOs for forest fire control tasks. She also reviewed earthquake preparedness and instructed all government construction agencies to strengthen building codes and ensure their strict adherence. She asked them to conduct continuous review and updating of these codes to ensure that earthquake-resistant and climate-adaptive designs are implemented in ongoing construction projects.
