A flood emergency warning surged in Sonepat on Thursday morning as part of a mock drill. The district administration established a control room to deal with the situation. Meanwhile, the control room at Mini Secretariat received information about the drowning of three persons in the canal passing through Mehlana village.
Following the information teams of officials, including the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, Health, Irrigation and Fire Departments, along with other agencies immediately rushed to the spot.
The teams of SDRF and the district disaster management force reached the spot and launched a search and rescue operation in the canal to save three lives by using specialised rescue equipment and motor boats. The team immediately brought them out and admitted them to a nearby health centre which had been established by the Health Department.
In Panipat, a mock drill was organised simultaneously at two places – Samalkha and IOCL. Teams of the district disaster management force, SDRF, police, health, fire and other departments were led by Deputy Commissioner Virender Kumar Dahiya during the drill. The aim of the exercise was to establish better communication among the various departments. As the siren sounded, all systems were put on alert and the teams rescued the injured and other people stuck in the situation.
DC Dahiya, along with SP Bhupender Singh, not only kept an eye on the situation from the control room but also inspected the situation at the IOCL and reviewed the arrangements, including security, rescue and safety arrangements made by the teams.
