Kerala govt holds high level meeting to review pre-monsoon preparedness

THiruvananthapuram, With the sou'-west monsoon expected to strike the state's shores by the terminate of the month, a high-ranking authorities meeting held here has decided to urgently complete pre-monsoon preparations across Kerala. The meeting reviewed the current state of preparedness and the activities undertaken by various government departments. Held at the Chief Minister's conference hall, the meeting resolved to expedite pending pre-monsoon works, according to a statement from the CMO. Attended by cabinet ministers, district collectors, and senior officials, the meeting produced several actionable suggestions for various departments ahead of the monsoon season. Revenue Minister K Rajan, who chaired the meeting, directed that district-level meetings be held by May 20 to formulate regional action plans to tackle potential monsoon-related disasters. The meeting also recommended training programmes to ensure that the incident response systems in place at the district and taluk levels function efficiently and on time. The list of people living in disaster-prone areas must be updated at the local government and village levels. Special review meetings at the district level are to be held in June, July, August, and September under the chairmanship of the respective district minister or district collector. A separate list of residents in landslide-prone areas should be prepared, with their mobile numbers collected to ensure timely delivery of rain and disaster alerts. Among other key decisions, the meeting directed the preparation of a disaster management plan for tribal hamlets. Volunteer training, in collaboration with the all-women Kudumbashree network, should be organised to form a disaster response force, it said. Rajan also emphasised that all departments and agencies, from the ward level to the state level, must work in a coordinated manner. The Chief Secretary, Dr Jayathilak, will oversee coordination at the state level, while district collectors will handle it at the district level. The India Meteorological Department has predicted that the southwest monsoon is likely to reach Kerala by May 27, earlier than the usual onset date of June 1. If the monsoon arrives as forecast, it would be the earliest onset over the Indian mainland since 2009, when it arrived on May 23, according to IMD data. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.