LAHORE, Provincial Minister for Disaster Management Mian Khalid Mehmood Monday visited the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warehouse at Jallo Road here to inspect the preparedness of the agency in the wake of a possible monsoon flooding.
The Jallo Road warehouse of the PDMA houses the machinery and equipment to be provided to the districts in case of the worst flooding situation in parts of the province.
Director General (DG) PDMA Raja Mansoor briefed the minister on the arrangements and informed that the agency was ready to deal with any possible threat of flood in the province.
The DG PDMA said a plan has already been designed to deal with the floods in cities and PDMA is continuously monitoring all the sensitive spots along with holding mock exercises in the districts. He informed that all sort of equipment was ready including the machinery for disposal of rainwater and provision of rescue services during the flood.
Talking to the media the provincial minister said the Meteorological department has not forecast unusual rains in monsoon this year but informed of some sort of threat of floods in the rural areas.
To a query, he said a flood-like situation could also arise in cities, adding that machinery has been provided to the district offices and line departments for the disposal of rainwater.
“Stock of motorboats, life jackets and tubes is also available while the material available in the warehouse is in addition to the equipment already given to the administration in Punjab”, he responded, adding that the army also has the PDMA’s material.
To a question, he clarified that edibles will be procured if needed but the Met. department has not predicted this kind of situation anywhere in the province. He further said the government gives two billion rupees to PDMA every year and the PTI government is also providing additional funds to deal with the emergent situation.
On river-flows, he said the flow of water in rivers is less than average but a flood-like situation could arise due to a sudden increase in the mass of water in the Chenab, Jhelum and Ravi rivers. He said PDMA has completed all arrangements and is also in contact with other line departments, he added.
To another question, the minister expressed satisfaction over the performance of PDMA, adding that the authority has worked round the clock to overcome smog, locust attack, coronavirus and floods during the last three years.
About transparency, Mian Khalid Mehmood said the audit is regularly held every year and all the procurement has been made transparently during the last three years and no compromise is made over the quality and quantity of material.
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