Dinesh Gundu Rao urges officials to take precautionary measures to avoid disasters ahead of monsoon

Mangaluru: District in charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao directed officials to identify flood-prone and waterlogging areas in advance and take all necessary precautionary measures ahead of the upcoming monsoon season.

Chairing a pre-monsoon preparedness meeting at the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Friday, the minister said officials must immediately visit areas that experienced flooding and landslides last year and initiate preventive measures to avoid disasters during the rainy season.

He instructed departments to expedite desilting works of rajakaluve and major stormwater drains and stressed the need for coordinated efforts among all departments concerned.

Deputy Commissioner Darshan H V informed the meeting that desilting works of drains and rajakaluve are currently in progress. He said eight erosion-prone locations have been identified and measures are being taken to minimise the risk.

The Deputy Commissioner also said 24x7 control rooms have been opened at both district and taluk levels for emergency disaster management during the monsoon.

An SDRF team is already functioning in Mangaluru, while an NDRF team is expected to arrive by the end of May, he added.

Officials have identified 92 flood-prone areas and 88 landslide-vulnerable locations across the district, and precautionary alerts are being issued to the public.

In Mangaluru city, large-scale desilting of stormwater drains is being carried out using earth movers machines, and most of the major canals have already been cleared, the Deputy Commissioner said.

Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Narwade Vinayak Karbhari, Superintendent of Police Dr Arun K, DCF Ravishankar, Mangaluru AC Meenakshi Arya and other officials were present at the meeting.