Punjab Local Government Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced the establishment of a ‘Monsoon war room’ by the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, to monitor the city around the clock through 1,700 CCTV cameras. The tech-enabled control centre aims to ensure prompt action and reduce public inconvenience during the monsoon season.
Real-time monitoring and rapid response
While inspecting the facility at the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) at MC’s Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar on Thursday, Bains explained that the war room live-streams high-definition footage from flood-prone intersections, low-lying colonies, and vulnerable drains. The system identifies inundation within seconds and maps floods, enabling teams to be deployed to exact locations, cutting response time from hours to minutes.
Bains said a dedicated monsoon helpline number will be launched soon. Citizens can call the helpline to report waterlogging, blocked drains, or overflowing nullahs, and the complaint will be logged instantly at the war room. Each complaint is geo-tagged on the city map, assigned to the nearest field team, and tracked until resolved. The goal is to fix issues quickly and let people see the action in real time, he added.
Action plan and directives
During a subsequent review meeting with MC officials, Bains laid out an action plan to prevent monsoon-related civic failures. He directed round-the-clock monitoring, desilting of the Buddha Dariya and main sewer lines, covering of manholes to prevent accidents, cleaning of road gullies, and urgent repair works on damaged roads.
“Under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s leadership, we are leaving no stone unturned. ‘Mission Clean Punjab’ is an operational order, not a slogan,” Bains said. He warned that officials found negligent in desilting or emergency response would face strict action, stating it will not be tolerated.
Officials present at the meeting
The meeting was attended by Mayor Inderjit Kaur, MC Commissioner Ojasvi Alankar, Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Prashar, Deputy Mayor Prince Johar, Joint Commissioner Tapan Bhanot, and Assistant Commissioner Jasdev Sekhon. The MC Commissioner apprised the minister of the command centre’s operational readiness, confirming that civic body teams are on high alert.
