Wednesday, 26 JUNE 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A mock drill will be conducted in the first fortnight of July to check the preparedness and security of dam projects for the monsoon season in the State. This was decided in a meeting chaired by Disaster Management secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha here on Tuesday. The mock drill will entail checking the functioning of sensors and sirens while also ascertaining whether the standard operating procedures prepared by the dam projects for emergency situations are effective on the ground. Stating that effective safety arrangements at dams and barrages are vital, Sinha directed that automatic sensors should be installed in all the dams so that they turn on whenever the level of water in dams and barrages reaches a certain level.
He directed representatives of all dam projects to appoint a nodal officer for coordinating with the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA). The projects should also share their SOPs and operational manuals with the USDMA while also making available the shadow control of the siren and API of the sensors to the State Emergency Operations Centre. The secretary directed representatives of the Dhauliganga dam project to install a 360-degree siren with five kilometre range at Dharchula. At present the dam management provides information on the phone regarding rise in the level of water in the river. The siren installed by the project management is farm from Dharchula and the residents of this city are unable to hear it. Further, the THDC India Limited AGM AK Singh informed that the holding capacity of the Tehri dam reduced by about 115 million cubic metres from 2,615 cubic metres to 2,500 cubic metres because of silt. During the meeting, Sinha expressed dissatisfaction at the working style of the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation department. The UP Irrigation department has not set up early warning systems at the dams and barrages under its control in the State. Considering this, the secretary directed officials to issue a show-cause notice to the department. He also stated that it is important to mark danger points along rivers so that those going to the river do not face risk when the water level rises suddenly and so that they may avoid the river in such a situation. Stating that climate change poses a risk to Himalayan glaciers, the secretary said that a group is departing soon to study glacial lakes. A group will be sent soon to study glaciers too, he added.
