MC sets up flood control room 15 days in advance

Ludhiana: Expecting an early onset of monsoon, the civic body activated its flood control room from Wednesday. Usually, this 24-hour monitoring by the employees drawn from various branches starts from July1 but, this year, it began 15 days in advance.
People can call at 0161-2749120 in case their localities or homes get flooded. The employees manning this control room in shifts will take down the complaint and forward it to the branch concerned or zonal offices for rescue and response.
Operation and maintenance cell executive engineer of Purshotam Lal said: “The control room team sits at Daresi and marks its daily attendance in a register. Sudden inspections are done to check its level of alertness.”
Despite this annual activation, the flood control room in the city gets only a few calls for rescue. The officials concerned claim that people prefer to call senior officials directly or use mobile applications to file complaints. They claim that this flood control room conveys these messages faster and to the appropriate authority.
The officials claim to have pushed the staff to complete the cleaning of stormwater drainage channels and sewers to prevent any blockage during the rains.
The MC issued orders to remove any material that clogged the Buddha Nullah because of the ongoing project of upgrading the sewage treatment plant at Tajpur Road. The MC is stocking sand bags for protecting the nearby localities in case the Buddha Nullah overflows during monsoon.