KARACHI, Jan 4: City Nazim Naimatullah Khan chaired a meeting on Friday to review security arrangements in the city and to further improve them to cope with any possible emergency in the metropolis owing to tension on borders.

This was stated in a press release of the City District Government Karachi on Friday.

It said the high officials of the federal, provincial and city governments attended the meeting. They included the officers of Karachi Police, Rangers, Traffic Police, KESC, KWSB, Civil Defence bodies of Sindh and Karachi, SITE, Sui Southern Gas, PTCL, Pakistan Steel, Port Qasim Authority, Food Department, Bureau of Supplies, Janbaz Force, KPT, KIT, Pakistan Railways, Caltex, Shell, PSO, National Oil Refinery, Pakistan Navy and EDOs of City District Government Karachi.

The meeting decided that a central control room (CCR) will be set up at the Civic Centre and it will start functioning from Jan 5.

Telephone numbers and names of the relevant officers of all the concerned government departments will be available at the central control room so that when needed they could be contacted with ease.

The fire brigade service of all the departments in the city would be combined so that a joint strategy could be evolved at the time of any emergency.

Special security arrangements would be made for sensitive installations of the federal, provincial and city governments including KESC, KWSB, KPT, Port Qasim, Pakistan Steel, Oil Refinery etc.

The meeting was informed that arrangements have been made to activate the civil defence system at the grassroots level. Sirens in different parts of Karachi have been rectified and wherever there is a need, more such sirens are being installed in order to meet the emergency needs.

EDO Health has been directed to prepare a list of ambulances in the city and also compile a record of ambulances functioning at government and private level.

It was also informed that the civil defence posts are being set up at the union council (UC) level.

In case of any need, the services of some 50,000 volunteers would be available.—APP