Deputy Commissioner and District Disaster Management Authority chairman H.V. Darshan on Monday said the administration has taken elaborate measures to mitigate the impact of natural disasters, if they happen during the forthcoming monsoon in Dakshina Kannada district.

Mr. Darshan told reporters here that the weathermen have predicted monsoon arrival in the district during the current week, in the backdrop of which the administration has kept elaborate plans in place. It has appointed incident commanders for each of the urban and rural local bodies for emergency response.

While engineers are the commanders for the 60 wards in Mangaluru City Corporation, the chief officers of respective urban local body are the commanders in their jurisdiction and panchayat development officers (PDOs) are the incident commanders for their panchayats. They are directed to respond immediately to public complaints and be always in touch with the district control room.

Mr. Darshan said the administration has identified 115 Kalaji Kendras to provide shelter and food to disaster-affected people. It has directed departments concerned to remove dangerous trees/branches and power lines in the vicinity of educational institutions. The Panchayat Raj Engineering Department is directed to submit building safety certificates of schools after a joint inspection with the head of the institution concerned.

The DC said a team of 25 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be deployed in Puttur taluk while another with 10 members will be stationed at Kukke Subrahmanya. Required numbers of chainsaws, life jackets, lifebuoys, earth movers, tippers and cranes are kept ready for emergencies.

Mr. Darshan said the Minor Irrigation Department is told to ensure no wooden logs/ trash get accumulated at the gates of vented dams to ensure smooth water flow. He urged people not to go for trekking near waterbodies or hills during the monsoon.

He said officers at the taluk and district levels are directed to stay compulsorily in their respective headquarters to attend to any emergencies.

Round-the-clock functional control rooms are established at the district, MCC and taluk levels, the DC added. The district control room may be contacted by dialling 1077 or 0824-2442590 and the MCC, 0824-2220306/ 2220319.

Zilla Panchayat CEO Narwade Vinayak Karbhari, Additional DC K Raju and others were present