Water should be kept in small containers for birds and animals in police stations and related offices.
Thiruvananthapuram:
As several parts of Kerala reeled under severe heatwave conditions, the state government on Saturday announced several schemes, including setting up of water kiosks by local bodies and on busy commercial streets, in view of the heat wave and possible heat wave.
These water kiosks, locally called ‘Thaneer Pandals’ across the state, will be stocked with chilled water, buttermilk and Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) as needed.
The kiosks should be kept open till May, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed at a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority, which was attended by heads of various departments and district collectors.
He said that district-wise notification should be issued to the general public about the location of such ‘Thaneer pandals’ and public buildings and the space provided by the great people could be utilized for the same.
A statement from the CMO said that gram panchayats, municipalities and corporations would be allocated Rs 2 lakh, 3 lakh and 5 lakh respectively from the disaster response fund.
Various government departments including the Disaster Management Authority, Health Department, Animal Husbandry, Agriculture, Forest, Fire and Rescue Department and Local Self-Government will conduct a massive awareness campaign on heat-related issues under the title “Let’s Face This Heat”.
The operation, which will begin within a week, will utilize the services of voluntary organizations and civil defense forces.
In view of increasing incidents of fire, fire and rescue personnel have been instructed to conduct ‘fire audit’ of hot spot areas, waste treatment plants, government offices, hospitals etc. and Rs 10 crore will be sanctioned for necessary purchases. Equipment and chemicals for the same.
The police, in association with the fire brigade personnel, should carry out immediate inspection of firecracker manufacturing and storage units to ensure that necessary fire safety measures are being followed.
Instructions will be given to organize festivals as per the guidelines of safety norms published by the State Disaster Management Authority.
The CMO’s statement said that to deal with the heat, instructions have also been given to prepare heat action plans for all the cities of the state.
Besides the Chief Minister, Revenue Minister K Rajan, Agriculture Minister P Prasad and other high officials also attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, state DGP Anil Kant directed to ensure drinking water to police officers who work in public places and are engaged in traffic duty to avoid dehydration.
The officers on patrolling and beat duty should inform the concerned authorities about the fire prone spots in their respective area, it said in a statement here.
Water should be kept in small containers for birds and animals in police stations and related offices.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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