Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on May 2 directed District Collectors to hold meetings in the presence of the Minister in charge of respective districts to intensify pre-monsoon cleaning works.
Local self-government institutions have been directed to begin pre-monsoon cleaning works on an urgent basis in order to clear clogged drains, culverts, and small canals before the onset of the monsoon.
It is important not to allow garbage to pile up in public places. Also, mosquito-control measures should be taken up across the State. The Local Self-Government department has been directed to identify and prepare the buildings to be used as relief camps during monsoon. Sandbars in river estuaries should be opened to the required extent and excess water allowed to drain out. This should be completed before May 25, the Chief Minister said.
Obstructions to main regulators and spillways of dams should be removed apart from ensuring that the spillways shutters are in working condition. The Rule Curve Monitoring Committee should ensure that the water in the dams does not rise above the rule curve approved by the Central Water Commission.
The Chief Minister also directed that trees, branches, hoardings and posts posing a threat to people should be removed before the monsoon.
At tourist places
Hazard warnings should be displayed at tourist attractions and awareness created among people living in hilly areas prone to landslips, he said in the meeting. Volunteer forces such as ‘Aapad Mitra’, civil defence, and so on should be prepared early.
The Chief Minister also said that attention should be paid to prevent spread of infectious diseases, including leptospirosis and dengue fever.
