POONCH: A review meeting to strengthen and promote Civil Defence enrollment in District Poonch was today chaired by Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC), Pankaj Magotra.
In view of recent cross border shelling, the District Administration Poonch has decided to initiate reactivation and streamlining of existing Civil Defence setup in the District for better emergency preparedness and response.
The meeting decided to revisit and update the list of Civil Defence and Village Guard (VHG) volunteers to drop inactive members and launch a time bound drive for fresh enrollment of active and motivated individuals.
A structured mechanism will be put in place from village, Mohra to tehsil level, ensuring at least one volunteer per Mohra or urban ward, with preference to ex-servicemen.
Nodal officers will be designated at the Naibat and Tehsil levels for close coordination. Rescue equipment and kits will also be provided to the selected volunteers for safekeeping and use during emergencies.
A three month training calendar will be prepared so as to cover all volunteers, including those from Voluntary Homeguards, Civil Defence, Aapda Mitras, NCC, and NSS. Important public religious places like Temples, Gurudwaras, Mosques and public infrastructure including hospitals and civic installations in Poonch town will be marked for identification during emergencies.
The Civil Defence Sirens will also be installed at the tehsil level in the first phase. As part of the development of a robust, integrated public warning system in the District, awareness programmes shall also be conducted for the vulnerable population about the public response to various sounds of sirens during emergencies.
The meeting was attended by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), DySP Civil Defence-SDRF, District Sainik Welfare Officer, Chief Warden, Inspector SDRF, NCC and NSS Incharges, and Consultant of Disaster Management Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Poonch.
