Drinking water & sanitation stressed upon n Teachers, department staff (not in COVID duty) to be engaged in relief & rescue operations
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The State government has instructed the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to ensure that the COVID-19-related guidelines — including the mandatory use of face-masks and sanitizers — are strictly adhered to under all circumstances by the flood-affected inmates in all the relief camps. The DCs were further instructed to engage in relief and rescue operations those teachers of schools and colleges as well as other staff of various departments who are not actively involved in COVID-19 duties. A notification was also issued in this regard. The DCs were further told to distribute adequate GR (gratuitous relief) among the affected people in accordance with the disaster management manual.
These instructions were provided by Revenue Minister Jogen Mohan during a meeting with all the 33 DCs via video-conferencing from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) office here on Thursday. Minister Mohan specifically told the DCs, "It must be ensured that there is no complaint from the public about the GR items."
The almost two-and-half-hour meeting — in the presence of Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Jishnu Barua, Commissioner Secretary (Revenue) MS Manivannam, ASDMA State Project Coordinator Pankaj Chakravarty among other officials of the department — dwelled on 40 vital aspects related to the safety of inmates in the flood relief camps during the pandemic.
Safe drinking water facilities and also regular cleaning of the relief camps were made mandatory. The DCs were further told to install sufficient number of toilets — with separate toilets for female inmates — in each relief camp. The DCs were further instructed to notify among the public the capacity of each relief camp within their jurisdiction, and also make the camps 'No Spitting' and 'No Smoking' zones.