CM fetes bravehearts in Karam Dam leak case
| Date :18-Aug-2022 |
Staff Reporter
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that all residents of the State are proud of the citizens and institutions doing outstanding work in disaster management of Karam Dam in Dhar district. Team Madhya Pradesh has set an excellent example of scientific disaster management. It was only because of courage, hard work and co-ordination that there was no loss of life. “Also, we did not allow any harm to animals. The damage caused to the crops will be compensated by the State Government. A committee has been constituted to investigate the Karam Dam incident. Action will be taken after the facts are revealed in the investigation.” Chief Minister Chouhan was addressing the felicitation ceremony of individuals and institutions who have done excellent work in disaster management of Karam Dam in Dhar district at the CM’s residence in Bhopal, on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Chouhan presented cheques of Rs 2 lakh each as Samman Nidhi to Pocklain machine operators engaged in relief and rescue at the Karam Dam site. He also honoured social workers and non-government organisations. Water Resources Minister Tulsiram Silawat, Public Health and Family Welfare Minister and Dhar district in-charge Minister Dr Prabhuram Choudhary, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Minister Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon, Principal Secretary Water Resources S N Mishra and other officers were present.
Chief Minister Chouhan listened virtually to the experiences of Indore Divisional Commissioner Pawan Sharma, Collector Dhar, Pankaj Jain and Collector Khargone, Kumar Purushottam regarding the management of Karam Dam disaster. Those who came to the CM’s Residence included Dhamnod Municipal Council President Dinesh Sharma, Dhamnod’s social worker Pramod Kedia, Gaurav Jat, Samar Singh, who opened the valve of the dam’s pipe. They also shared their experiences related to disaster management and relief work.
Chief Minister Chouhan said that with the grace of God, guidance of technical experts and co-operation of all, the water of the dam was drained out in 24 hours. It was a matter of satisfaction that the water did not enter the villages and houses. “Sometimes a testing time like this is created. In this difficult time, the three ministers and the entire staff of the administration continued to discharge their duty with responsibility and efficiency. The credit for this success goes to everyone,” he added.
Chief Minister Chouhan handed over cheques of Rs 2 lakh each to Pocklain operator, machine helper, breaker operator etc, as Samman Nidhi, for making way for safe drainage of dam water. Shivkumar Kole, Sanjay Bharti, Mohammad Syed Alam, Pramod Kumar, Suraj Kumar Kole, Nitish Kumar, Amit, Jai Singh, Jitendra Darbar, Motilal, Indu, Gangaram, Sunil, Shyamlal, Vijay and Santosh Osari were given certificates and cheques. Chief Minister Chouhan honoured voluntary organisations and public representatives engaged in relief work by providing them shawls, shriphal and certificates.
Water Resources Minister Silawat said that Chief Minister Chouhan had given clear instructions that there should be no loss of life. According to this instruction, all the rescue activities were conducted after developing a strategy. Minister Silawat praised the courage and devotion to duty of the Pocklain machine operators.
People of Dharamshala and Marriage Garden provided free service in the relief work: Sharing his experience in the function, Dhamnod Municipal Council President Dinesh Sharma said that the people of Dharamshala and Marriage Garden also helped by providing free service in the relief work. Dhamnod’s social worker Pramod Kedia said that the Seva Bharti team worked sensitively to save human life as well as protect cattle. Samar Singh, who opened the valve of the dam’s pipe, said, “at first I was afraid to open the valve, but when I thought about the people of many villages, I risked my life and proceeded to open the valve.” Gaurav Jat of Dhamnod, who arranged food for villagers, said that as soon as we got information, we arranged 500 food packets in an hour. The special thing is that the sisters who came to Dhamnod for Rakhi also took care of the food arrangements.
Indore Divisional Commr Sharma said that during the administrative service, there was good experience in getting the dam built, but this was the first experience to get the dam cleared. There were many fears due to the damage to the dam and incessant rains, but as a result of the encouragement of the Chief Minister Chouhan, his prompt decision and clear instructions, he faced the disaster by overcoming the fear. Collector Dhar Jain said that systematic operation of disaster management and relief works became possible with the co-operation of the entire administrative team and public representatives.
Khargone Collector Kumar Purushottam infromed that it was a wonderful example of disaster and relief management.