GUWAHATI, July 8 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday directed setting up of a 24x7 control room at the Janata Bhawan and installation of a one-way or single-pole electrical switch in each of the blocks of the Secretariat to deal with emergency situations like fire. He gave the instruction while reviewing the fire incident that broke out at the Janata Bhawan on Tuesday night.
The Chief Minister also asked Secretary of General Administration Department Gurudutta Laskar to inquire into the fire incident and submit a report with recommendations for upgrading the arrangements in order to mitigate fire and emergency situations at the Janata Bhawan.
During the review meeting, Sonowal asked officials concerned to expeditiously install CCTV cameras within the Janata Bhawan campus, complete the electrical audit of the buildings early, to reduce files and develop a mechanism for disposal of old files piled up in different departments for several years. He also directed adoption of steps for augmenting skills of the security and monitoring staff working at the Janata Bhawan and review of their performance every three months.
The Chief Minister further instructed the Fire and Emergency Department to keep itself fully prepared with hydraulic trolleys and modern equipment to control fire and other crisis situations in the State. He also asked the department to hold a meeting with real estate entrepreneurs to sensitise them on the need for installation of modern fire fighting equipment at the private apartment buildings in the city.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna today visited the incident site on the direction of the Chief Minister and took stock of the damage.