A CORRESPONDENT
LAKHIMPUR: In view of the flood situation looming large in Dhemaji district, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday reviewed the flood preparedness of the Dhemaji district administration by taking part in a meeting organized in the conference hall the of Deputy Commissioner's office. During the same meeting, he also took stock of the COVID-19 situation as well as its management strategy adopted by the district administration in Dhemaji in presence of Ministers Dr. Ranuj Pegu and Sanjay Kishan and MLA Bhuban Pegu.
Dhemaji being a very flood prone district, the Chief Minister made several directions to the district administration. During the meeting, the Chief Minister directed the district administration to collect data of all downstream rivers flowing from Arunachal Pradesh as well as rainfall data which would be helpful for them to pre-empt and negotiate with the flood and carry out relief and rehabilitation exercises.
In a bid to reduce the plight of the people suffering from flood, the Chief Minister asked Revenue and Disaster Management Department to explore feasibility for setting up fixed pedestal shelters on the high-rise platforms in consultation with DRDO. He also asked the district administration to do complete mapping of the roads vulnerable to flood and to take immediate steps for the repair of roads and restoring communication. He at the same time called for extraordinary efforts on the part of district administration and other stakeholders for mitigating the impact of flood.
With regard to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, Chief Minister Sarma asked Deputy Commissioner P. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy to ensure vaccination to all government officials immediately so that they could render their services during flood. He also asked health department to go for complete inoculation of the Anganwadi helpers and workers on priority basis. The Chief Minister also gave a target to achieve complete vaccination of Dhemaji district within 75 days. He also visited a model vaccination centre at Dhemaji town.
The Chief Minister asked the Deputy Commissioner to expeditiously earmark land for setting up of Medical College at Dhemaji. He also stressed developing Dhemaji as a dairy hub. He directed the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department to prepare a value chain network for dairy production and processing in Dhemaji. He also stressed the need of using the method of artificial insemination of cows to enhance the quality of breed.