Udupi floods: Is the district admin prepared to deal with natural disasters?

Team Udayavani, Sep 20, 2020, 4:46 PM IST

Udupi: The district was hit by torrential rains starting from Saturday night. Due to the neglect and lack of preparedness of the district administration, the people were left without any help at the time of its need.

“The water level rose after 11 pm in different parts of Udupi town and the taluk. At 2.45 am, water started rushing into the houses of the residents, worsening the situation. When calls were made to the emergency helpline the only response from the staff there was ‘rescue vehicles have left, they will reach you soon.’ But even after hours, no help came,” said Ranjan, a resident of Uppuru, to Udayavani.

This is the first time since 1982 that Udupi was flooded after heavy rains.

After this deluge, most of the public at large are questioning whether the authorities were ready and had any plans to deal with such a catastrophe.

As per the recommended course of action, all 7 tehsildars in the district are to hold a meeting between PDO and residents of a gram panchayat to address any disaster during monsoon. Additionally, at the gram panchayat level, a committee must be formed that includes a group of swimmers, boats, owners of earthmoving equipment, tippers, cranes, trucks and woodcutters.

However, this year the district administration did not do any of this.