25 June 2004	Friday	06 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

HYDERABAD, June 24: Executive District Officer community development Ibrahim Qureshi has directed all Deputy District Officers of the social welfare department to make contingency plans to meet any eventuality during the rains.

This, he directed, while presiding over a meeting of representatives of NGOs and DDOs about rain emergencies at his office on Wednesday. He urged the officials concerned to submit their local contingency plan in a week so that requirements of the plan could be managed well in time.

Mr Qureshi directed the DDOs to prepare a list of relief centres and keep the same ready with all necessary things in advance. He stressed for a close coordination between NGOs and officials of the social welfare department and urged for constituting taluka-wise rescue committees to meet any emergency during the monsoon season.

He also directed the DDOs for opening help centres in their respective areas, which must work for the people round the clock. He said shortcomings of the last year must be examined and it should be ensured that the same might not be repeated this year.

Mr Qureshi informed the meeting that the district government had already prepared an over all contingency plan to meet any eventuality in the rains and engaged all administrative and utility departments to undertake their joint efforts to protect lives and properties of the people.

However, the job of facilitating rain and flood victims had been assigned to the social welfare department and NGOs of their respective areas. The EDO appealed to the philanthropists to help social welfare department teams during the rescue services and expressed the hope that the relief work would be managed accordingly.