Lt. Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu reviewed the situation arising due to heavy snowfall in Kashmir and issued directions to the concerned officers for prompt action to alleviate miseries of people due to heavy snowfall in the Valley. BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Bipul Pathak, Principal Secretary to Lt. Governor; Hirdesh Kumar, Secretary PDD; Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Ajeet Kumar Sahu, Secretary PHE; Khurshid Ahmad Shah, Secretary PWD; Pandurang Pole, Secretary Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction and Alok Kumar, IGP Traffic, J&K participated in the meeting. Through video conferencing, Baseer Ahmad Khan, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, briefed Lt. Governor about the status of the restoration of power supply, clearance of snow from the roads, adequacy of food items, fuel, water supply, availability of medicines and other basic amenities in areas of heavy snowfall in Kashmir. Divisional Commissioner Kashmir informed that machines have been put in place for snow clearance, Centres for relief facilities have been set up in 3 places on the National Highway with sufficient stocking of essential commodities including dry ration, heaters, blankets, and provision of water and toilet facilities. He added that these Centres have the capacity to accommodate 1500 people at a time. It was informed that 602 winter dumping stations have been established in inaccessible areas of Kashmir with all the basic necessities stocked for 6 months, these areas are mostly situated in the districts of Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag and a few areas in Budgam district. The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir informed that winter control rooms have been established at district and sub divisional level and their telephone numbers have been widely publicized. All officers/officials have been asked not to leave stations without proper permission. Besides officers are touring extensively in areas of their jurisdiction to oversee public facilities. Khan informed that snow clearance from roads and restoration of electricity supply has been done in record time and train services in the Valley have again started working from today. It was informed that 100 % major roads and more than 95 % internal roads in every district of Kashmir have been cleared for traffic movement. 95 % of the electricity supply in Srinagar district, 78% in Pulwama, 73% in Kulgam and 70% each in Shopian and Ganderbal has been restored. Provision of alternate electricity supply for Baramulla and Kupwara districts has been made from Lower Jhelum, Kishenganga and Dilena sub-station. This interim arrangement has been made till electric lines are restored in these districts. As regarding water supply, Divisional Commissioner informed that 680 out of 859 water schemes are fully functional with 100 % water supply restoration in Srinagar, Anantnag, Bandipora, Kulgam and Ganderbal and more than 90 % in other districts. He informed that 80 stationary and 105 vehicle mounted pumps have been pre-positioned at vulnerable places to avoid inundation of low lying areas. Divisional Commissioner Kashmir further informed that 64,700 candidates appeared for 10th class examination today and adequate heating and lighting facilities were available at all the examination centres. He said that teams have also been constituted to check overcharging and hoarding of essential items by the traders. Chief Secretary informed that Rs. 20 crore for Kashmir and Rs. 10 crore for Jammu have been provided and asked both the Divisional Commissioners to utilize the funds sanctioned under the SDRF. Divisional Commissioner Kashmir told that the SDRF teams have also been kept ready for carrying out rescue operations in upper reaches in case of landslides. While reviewing the traffic management, Lt. Governor suggested for setting up kiosks wherever the space for traffic boy is not available. He directed deployment of adequate traffic personnel with provision of uninterrupted communication channels for smooth flow of traffic particularly along the Jammu-Srinagar Highway. He advised the PDD to ensure well designed towers for future including laying out of underground cables to protect the supply and directed the PHE Department for providing more vehicle mounted pumps. Lt. Governor directed Divisional Commissioner Jammu to identify land for facilitating passengers who get stranded due to landslides on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway and create facilities for provision of food, water, toilets, tents and medicines. Lt. Governor directed the administration to put in added efforts in mitigating the difficulties of the people and meeting their requirements. He advised constant monitoring and all out efforts for ensuring public convenience. He directed for providing immediate relief for damaged structures and in cases of death and those injured.
