PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Monday directed district administration to remain on high alert after forecasts indicated more monsoon rains in the province.

According to an official statement, Mr Gandapur instructed all relevant departments to take precautionary measures to deal with potential risks such as floods and landslides. He said that minimising loss of life and property must remain a top priority during the monsoon season.

He ordered continuous presence of personnel from police, local government, irrigation, rescue services and district administrations in the field to respond swiftly to any emergency. He said that special attention should be paid to tourist areas timely weather-related risk alerts and safety guidance should be provided to tourists currently present in those regions.

Mr Gandapur said that availability of machinery and equipment should be ensured to immediately clear roads that may be blocked due to landslide. At district level, he stressed the need for fully functional healthcare centres with essential staff and medicines available round the clock. He ordered all emergency control rooms across the province to remain operational 24/7.

District admin directed to enforce advisories of PDMA

In case of any untoward incident, the chief minister said that district administration officials must personally supervise rescue and relief operations. He also called for establishment of a robust coordination mechanism among all relevant departments at district level to effectively manage any emergency situation.

He directed all district administrations to strictly implement precautionary measures and advisories issued by Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in light of the monsoon forecast.

APP adds: A meeting on governance and monsoon preparedness was held here with Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah in the chair.

The meeting included a detailed briefing on proactive measures in response to the monsoon spell. The chief secretary emphasised urgent need to complete river demarcations and ordered strict implementation of all relevant directives.

He said that leaves for government officials in flood-prone areas should be cancelled to ensure full preparedness. He stressed the need for inter-departmental coordination for timely response in case of emergency.

The additional deputy commissioners were directed to remain fully prepared as the first response unit. Revenue and irrigation departments were told to take action against encroachments based on official land records to prevent rights violations.

To curb urban flooding, municipal authorities were instructed to ensure proper cleaning of drainage systems. Officials informed the meeting that anti-encroachment operations were being carried out without discrimination. Data has also been collected of officials, who issued unauthorised NOCs for construction near waterways and disciplinary action is planned.

The performance management and reforms unit presented a report on recent anti-encroachment operations in various districts. Peshawar Development Authority briefed the meeting on traffic improvement projects, including new general bus stand, Northern Ring Road Missing Link and beautification initiative.

Under the new e-summary system, 178 summaries have been issued and no summary is being processed manually after July 1.

The secretary of tourism said that due to recent environmental protection efforts, 291 hotels and restaurants in tourist areas upgraded their sewage and drainage systems since May. More compliance actions are under way.

The participants of the meeting were also updated on progress made under public-private partnership initiatives and implementation of good governance roadmap.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2025