Odisha: Multi-agency control room at BMC to tackle emergencies in future

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) will form a multi-agency control room on its office premises for better redressal of emergency situations as from the recent drainage management control exercise during the last couple of days, it was learnt that the problems are relating to various agencies concerned.
The major stakeholders of the multi-agency control room will include the Swachha Bhubaneswar Abhiyaan (SBA) from BMC, Public Works Department, Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO), National Highways Authority of India, Commissionerate of Police and Fire Service.
The need for the multi-agency control room comes from the fact that following the incessant rains for the last couple of days, it has come to the lime light that the drainage management has multiple components pertaining to the works of all the line departments and this control room will facilitate the flowing of the information to the agency concerned at the right moment.
As BMC has already designated a city emergency officer to tackle the emergency situation arising out from the natural calamities in the city, the multi-agency control room, with the help of BMC’s own control room will work in a perfect symphony to address people’s complaints during the emergency situations.
This model will also work as a precursor to the proposed Command and Control System to monitor city’s various problem areas, once all the vantage points would be covered under the Integrated City Operations and Management Centre (ICOMC), proposed in the pan-city proposal of the Smart City Proposal.
Currently, the civic authority is currently working on a monsoon management plan with the existing manpower by forming 12 sector-based teams and one central team at the BMC Headquarters. In future days, through inputs from all the teams and action taken by the Central Control Room, a standard operating procedure (SOP) would be developed for the city.
Formation of a detailed vulnerable pockets analysis and city-wide vulnerability mapping with respect to the drainage issues is on the cards and the vulnerability data would be placed in the map on a 1 to 5 scale to know the severity and its damage causing capabilities. In a nutshell with the joining of a city emergency officer, formation of a multi-agency control room and detailed vulnerability mapping, the state capital would be able to build up an institutional framework to tackle the future emergency situations.
150 COMPLANTS ADDRESSED:
Meanwhile the various teams engaged at the field level have addressed several issues to address the water-logging like situation in the city following rains. During the functioning of the monsoon control room to address the drainage issues, the BMC control room has received complaints and addressed.
During the last five days the BMC 24X7 control room has so far received 150 complaints (till 3 pm on July 18th). While on the first day and second day 14 each complaint were registered, on day three 51, day four 59 and today till 3 pm 12 complaints were received and all were addressed.
ACTION TAKEN TODAY:
While the Municipal Commissioner has called for proper documentation and identification of the vulnerable points, sector officials and drainage engineers have identified key points in Mancheswar area, where the flow of rain water from the confluence of Drainage Channel No. 2 and 3 was obstructed by a defunct hum pipe system on the Mancheswar Railway Sliding Road. This is causing water-logging situation on the upstream. Similarly obstructions by a pipeline near Dhirikuti Basti has also been identified and the steps initiated to solve the matter very soon. It can be mentioned here that Sainik School and the nearby Mancheswar area form the catchment for both the natural drainage channels in the city.
Similarly field officials have identified a portions of broken drains in and around the centrally located Forest Part area causing water-logging like situation during heavy downpour.
While the cleaning agency in CS Pur area has been intimated for an immediate de-silting of drains in the Sikharchandi Slums area, in many areas sector officers have identified garbage lifting issues. However, Municipal Commissioner Dr. Krishan Kumar has categorically asked all the concerned agencies and the officials to ensure lifting of garbage properly and ensure a better environment in the city to ensure zero spread of any diseases, which, usually surface after a spell of continuous rainfall in an area.

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