KTR reviews monsoon preparedness, Ward Office system
HYDERABAD: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) should be prepared to deal with any eventuality during monsoon, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD), K T Rama Rao said. He held a review meeting on monsoon preparedness with officials of various wings of the municipal department in here on Tuesday.
There was also a special review on the progress of projects like the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP) under progress for flood prevention.
The minister after reviewing preparedness issued directions to enhance the measures needed to tackle the situations that arise during monsoon in municipalities across the State.
He emphasised that the priority should be to prevent loss of life. Besides monsoon preparedness, Rama Rao also reviewed the Ward Office (WO) system which was recently inaugurated in GHMC. He spoke to citizens over the phone about their experience of getting issues resolved through the Ward Offices. In the meeting, the officials apprised the minister of the ongoing preparations for the rainy season, which have been in progress for some time.
They told him that safety audits of nalas in GHMC and other municipalities across the State are nearing completion.
Officials looking after the SNDP project said that the majority of works undertaken were completed. Compared to the previous years, many colonies will not witness flooding this year in the event of any downpour.
The minister asked officials to identify low-lying areas to make necessary arrangements such as deploying dewatering pumps and other resources. Also, he asked them to constantly monitor water storage levels in lakes across the city to prevent overflow.
While reviewing the WO system, the MAUD minister said that it could face teething problems as it is in the inception stage. He asked Zonal Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to take proactive measures towards this end.
During the meeting, he interacted with a few citizens of Hyderabad over phone. He spoke to the people who lodged complaints with GHMC about the process of the issue of redressal, and their experience in interacting with the municipal corporation.
One of the citizens, Ram from Gajularamaram, said that his feedback was sought after addressing his complaint regarding street lights. He expressed his satisfaction with the prompt resolution of a reported issue regarding street lights. Rama Rao thanked him for sharing his feedback.