Ahmedabad, June 11 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, on Wednesday, chaired a high-level meeting to assess the preparedness of various government departments ahead of the upcoming monsoon season.

The meeting focused on proactive disaster management planning and coordination at all administrative levels — from municipal corporations to district and taluka units.

The Chief Minister emphasised enhancing community participation in local disaster management plans and directed departments to conduct mock drills and training sessions.

Special attention was given to departments directly linked to public life and safety such as irrigation, health, energy, roads, and food supplies to ensure their monsoon action plans were robust and in place.

To mitigate possible damage from heavy rains, CM Patel instructed the Road and Building Department to prepare alternate routes in case highways are disrupted.

He was told that 90 per cent of the pre-monsoon inspection of minor bridges and causeways has already been completed.

The Energy Department assured that it is equipped with satellite phones and necessary manpower to restore power supply swiftly during monsoon-related outages, the Chief Minister said.

In vulnerable regions like Saurashtra and Kutch, the Chief Minister recommended permanent deployment of NDRF teams and directed the Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue, Jayanti Ravi, to coordinate with Central authorities for timely assistance.

At present, 15 NDRF and 11 SDRF teams have been deployed across Gujarat.

The Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority reported that nearly 9,000 trained disaster volunteers will be mobilised and intensive training will be conducted to boost local response capacity.

Urban areas, particularly municipal corporations and district administrations, will also strengthen mock drills and public engagement activities.

State Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi instructed departments to ensure control rooms are operational around the clock in all districts and that necessary resources are made available without delay.

Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister, M.K. Das, and senior Secretaries of key departments were also present in the meeting.

Officials from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), NDRF, and the Indian Coast Guard also participated in the meeting to provide inputs and support.

–IANS

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