RAMBAN, DECEMBER 12: Deputy Commissioner Ramban Mohammad Alyas Khan Friday chaired a meeting to assess district’s preparedness for the winter season. The meeting held in his office chamber reviewed in detail the arrangements put in place for smooth delivery of public services during harsh weather conditions.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Varunjeet Singh Charak; ACR Shokat Hayat Mattoo; ACD Sehraz Ahmed; CPO Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Rather; SDMs and senior officers from Revenue, Jal Shakti, JPDCL, R&B, PMGSY, Transport, Health, Education, Municipalities, FCS&CA and other stakeholder departments attended the meeting.
MLA Banihal Sajjad Shaheen also joined the meeting virtually and highlighted key issues related to winter challenges while suggesting several practical measures for timely redressal.
The Deputy Commissioner took a detailed stock of the district’s preparedness, reviewing critical aspects such as the power supply scenario, availability and stock of essential commodities including ration, LPG, fuel, functioning of healthcare institutions, availability of essential medicines, and status of snow clearance machinery. He emphasized the need for seamless movement of vehicles, ambulances and essential service providers even during heavy snowfall.
Deliberations were held on the Winter Action Plan, focusing on minimizing risks associated with heavy snowfall, cold waves, icy roads, and snow avalanches. The meeting discussed snow clearance for roads, shelter management, resource deployment and activation of emergency response systems.
The DC directed the Executive Engineers of PWD and PMGSY to prepare and submit a comprehensive action plan for snow clearance to ensure all major and link roads remain motorable throughout the winter. He instructed them to keep all machinery, manpower, and logistics in a state of readiness for immediate deployment.
The Executive Engineer JPDCL was asked to ensure uninterrupted power supply across the district, maintain adequate buffer stock of transformers at vulnerable locations, and ensure full functionality of transformer workshops at Batote and Banihal for prompt replacement of damaged units. The Executive Engineer of STD Division was also directed to arrange additional power support to mitigate overload issues in Banihal and Ramsoo subdivisions.
Reviewing the healthcare arrangements, the DC instructed the department to ensure round-the-clock medical services at all health institutions, maintain sufficient stock of life-saving drugs, and station ambulances at sensitive locations to tackle emergencies without delay.
He directed the AD FCS&CA to ensure advance distribution of three months’ ration in snow-bound areas, besides maintaining a buffer stock of LPG to meet the increased winter demand.
The DC further instructed the SDMs and Tehsildars to keep tehsil-level control rooms functional 24×7 for prompt public response. The SDM Banihal, SDM Ramsoo, and Tehsildar Batote were directed to ensure heating, bedding, and other necessary arrangements at designated shelters for commuters during emergencies.
The Emergency and Fire Services Department was directed to ensure full readiness by augmenting machinery, equipment, and manpower for quick response to fire incidents during winter.
Directives were also issued to ACD, ARTO, CAHO, CAO, DSHO, CEO MC and other officers to implement all winter-related instructions within their respective domains.
Emphasizing the importance of preventive action, the Deputy Commissioner said that all departments must ensure that routine functioning of essential installations remains unaffected despite harsh weather. He reiterated that uninterrupted services in health, power, water supply, transport, agriculture, and public utilities must be guaranteed throughout the winter season.
