A meeting of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) was held today (Monday, June 8) under the chairmanship of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu. State Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Minister Ashish Sood and Pravesh Verma also participated in this meeting. In the meeting, fire safety, illegal construction, heat wave action plan and monsoon preparations in the capital were reviewed.
During this time, to strengthen the fire service, LG Sandhu has suggested hiring retired firefighters to fill the existing vacancies. He suggested that the services of former firefighters should be taken to fill the vacant posts in the fire department quickly. Along with this, the teams of officers formed last week were instructed to submit their Action Taken Reports (ATRs) on time.
Review of many issues in the meeting
During the meeting, the ongoing operation against illegal buildings in Delhi, misuse of licenses regarding fire safety and measures for future preparation were thoroughly reviewed. The meeting emphasized that Delhi’s disaster vulnerabilities pose significant challenges, but they also provide opportunities to strengthen preparedness, resilience, and response systems. Also, the action should not cause trouble to the common people.
LG’s suggestion regarding former firefighters
During the meeting it was revealed that there is a need to increase human resources to make Delhi Fire Service a more effective and quick responding agency. In this context, LG said that the former firefighters returning after getting trained in the army have experience in discipline, disaster management and dealing with emergency situations, which the fire department can benefit from.
Plan to increase the number of fire stations
Along with this, a plan to increase the number of fire stations in the capital was also discussed, so that the response time can be reduced in case of any fire or disaster. In the meeting, emphasis was also laid on strict adherence to fire safety rules, expansion of fire safety measures in multi-storey buildings and fixing accountability of officials. Reviewing the ongoing cases of illegal construction and misuse of fire safety licenses in the city, LG said that illegal construction and unauthorized plotting going on openly should be stopped immediately.
Monsoon preparedness review
Heat-related disaster management measures and the status of monsoon preparations were also reviewed in the meeting. It was asked to be more careful, strictly enforce and adopt a zero-tolerance attitude regarding floods in the coming rainy season. LG directed to implement drain cleaning and de-silting works with full seriousness. He said that the administration’s policy should be zero tolerance regarding waterlogging and flood situation during the rainy season.
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