Heavy rain alert in Uttarakhand, CM Dhami takes stock of situation in state

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 20 (ANI): Amid the heavy rain alert in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the Disaster Control Room at the Secretariat and took stock of the situation in the state.
The Chief Minister said that there is a need to remain alert in view of the possibility of heavy rains.
"Disaster preparedness should be regularly tested. Any deficiencies found should be rectified immediately. No officer's mobile should be switched off. There will be no excuse on this. Strict action should be taken against the concerned for dereliction of duty," said Pushkar Singh Dhami.
"The District Magistrate should take a decision regarding the holiday in the schools according to the situation in their districts. Please be alert," he added.
The Chief Minister directed that the supply of essential commodities like food grains, medicines, fuel etc. should be checked once again. Continuous coordination should be maintained with the mobile operator companies so that there is no problem in the communication network.
He asked to make such a system that the information disseminated from the state headquarters reaches the village without any delay. "All the departmental secretaries and heads of departments should regularly monitor their respective departments from the point of view of disaster. In the event of a disaster, the buildings and places identified for the living of the affected should be re-examined from the point of view of safety. New and young officers should be appointed," Dhami said.
The IMD has placed Uttarakhand on a Red Alert and its neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the capital, Delhi on an Orange Alert for Wednesday.
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at a few isolated places is very likely over Uttarakhand on Wednesday, the daily bulletin of the weather agency said.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places is likely over Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, the weather agency said.
Heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal and Kerala and Mahe.
Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning are likely at isolated places over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan and Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on July 20. (ANI)