Uttarakhand steps up vigil after Nepal quake

The state machinery in Uttarakhand has been sensitised towards disaster management and other procedures following last week-end's earthquake in neighbouring Nepal, an official said on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Monday took stock of the situation in the state and asked disaster management officials to maintain vigil.

At a high-level meeting of senior officials at Bijapur Guest House in Dehradun, Rawat said officials should "take lessons from the quake and initiate better coordination between various departments" so that in case of any similar eventuality, the state machinery is not found wanting either in rescue or relief.

"Uttarakhand is a hilly state and prone to earthquakes, so we should be in a state of perpetual preparedness to meet any such eventuality," Rawat said.

He directed officials of the Disaster Management and State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) to strengthen the district level disaster management units and prepare an inventory of equipments needed to tackle disasters like earthquake.

"Highly sensitive earthquake zones are being marked again and directives have been issued to provide Rs.50 lakh additionally to each district level disaster management units, prepare a data base of telephone numbers right from the level of the chief secretary to tehsildaar," an official told IANS.

Instructions have also been issued to train 2,000 police personnel beside the SDRF so that they can respond quickly in case of a natural calamity.

In addition, Rawat stressed the need for raising a motorcycle-based ambulance service so that these can reach far-flung areas in the tough, hilly terrain.