Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 6 (ANI): Ahead of the upcoming monsoon season, the Uttar Pradesh government on the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is close to completing all the necessary preparations to deal with floods, an official statement said on Tuesday.

At a recent meeting, the Chief Minister reviewed the preparations with the concerned officials and directed them to finish the arrangements for tackling floods by June 15.

In line with the directions of the Chief Minister, the steering group meeting has also been completed in 73 districts constituted under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate. A central flood control room has been set up in Lucknow, while around 50 flood control rooms have been set up in districts. From June 15 through the end of the rainy season (likely till October), these control rooms will be operational, the statement added.

The Yogi government has already made all the arrangements to deal with the floods. Flood control rooms have been established in Lucknow as well as in 50 districts. From June 15 onward, it will be functional. Priortising the safety of the common person, more than 282 projects related to floods have been completed in 2022-2023 while over 982 flood projects in total were finished during the Yogi government's tenure.

A total of 412 projects are currently underway, including 265 new projects, 7 dredging-related projects, and 140 other projects. Approximately half of the work on more than 325 projects has been finished whereas 113 wireless centres will be operational nonstop throughout the flood period to facilitate quick exchange of flood information by Uttar Pradesh Police Radio Headquarters, Lucknow, the statement added.

CM Yogi is also monitoring the 24 most vulnerable districts from the point of view of floods including-- Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Gorakhpur, Basti, Bahraich, Bijnor, Siddharthnagar, Ghazipur, Gonda, Ballia, Deoria, Sitapur, Balrampur, Ayodhya, Mau, Farrukhabad, Shravasti, Badayun, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, SantakabirNagar, Pilibhit and Barabanki.

The 16 flood sensitive districts in UP include: Saharanpur, Shamli, Aligarh, Bareilly, Hamirpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Rampur, Prayagraj, Bulandshahr, Moradabad, Hardoi, Varanasi, Unnao, Lucknow, Shahjahanpur and Kasganj.

The CM has ordered that sufficient reserve stock be gathered in these areas in case of a flood emergency. Arrangements for lighting and necessary equipment are also being made at these places. All 780 flood protection committees have been constituted. The District Magistrates are inspecting the most vulnerable and sensitive embankments and getting them repaired.

Work on many embankments has been completed ahead of the onset of monsoon. The repair work of the Kadakka embankment constructed on the Kosi river in Farrukhabad, Ashogwa-Nagwan embankment on Budhi Rapti, Madarhwa-Ashogwa dam and Lakhnapar Baidaula embankment has been completed. The work of the Chiutidar embankment on the river Saryu in Mau, Jauriangpal embankment on the river Ganga in Budaun, Ganga-Mahawan embankment, Ushait embankment, Uswan embankment and Mahula Garhwal and Jokhara embankment on Saryu river in Azamgarh has been completed. The repair of the damaged portion at Jokhara has been completed.

In other districts, including Sant Kabir Nagar, many works were done before the monsoon. The officer-in-charge and assistant engineer have also been nominated for the most sensitive embankments.

Through video conferencing, the CM had directed the district magistrates in the districts of susceptible and sensitive nature to conduct pre-flood inspections in the presence of the MP, MLA, District Panchayat President, Mayor, and Chairman of the urban body. The CM had directed that districts should have their own action plan for disaster management while youths should be trained with the help of NDRF/SDRF.

He had also instructed district magistrates to conduct physical inspections of sensitive places along with public representatives.

All vulnerable embankments have designated officers in charge who are on constant alert. The embankments will be continuously inspected and continuously monitored by the regional officers/employees. Aapda Prabandhan Mitra, volunteers of Civil Defence will be duly trained by taking help as per their requirement, the statement said. (ANI)