No change in rescheduling of working hours for govt employees during summers: Haryana chief secretary

Chandigarh (Haryana) [India], April 19 : Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal on Wednesday called the meeting of senior officers of the Power, Health, Public Health Engineering, Labour and Revenue departments for management and mitigation of the adverse effects of extreme weather conditions predicted by Indian Metrological Department, stated an official release.

It was apprised in the meeting by the officers of Power Utilities that there will be no shortage of power. The utilities have already made adequate arrangements to meet the growing demand for power this summer.

The officers of the PHED and Irrigation Department shared details of adequate availability of water for drinking and irrigation purposes. The chief secretary said there should be no change in rescheduling of working hours for government employees.

CM Kaushal directed officers to urge the farmers to provide water and shade to their livestock and avoid working them during the hottest parts of the day. He also asked the officers to launch an awareness campaign to educate people about the risks of heatwaves and the importance of taking necessary precautions.

He directed the health department to ensure adequate quantities of ORS packs, essential medicines, IV fluids, ice - packs, and equipment to support the management of volume depletion and electrolyte imbalance etc.

He also directed them to ensure sufficient availability of cooling appliances and their functioning. He asked the Health department to equip ambulances with ice packs and cold water for the early management of heat-related illness cases. He said cases of suspected heat stroke should be rapidly assessed using standard treatment protocols.

CM Kaushal further directed the officers of the Fire Department to ensure precautionary measures to prevent fire incidents due to extreme weather conditions. He asked them to ensure fire extinguishers in every government building, private high-rising building and flat. He also asked them to check if the fire extinguishers were functioning properly.

The chief secretary directed the Labour and Health department to issue health advisories and plan IEC activities from time to time to make the public, especially labourers, aware of the precautions taken to safeguard against heat wave.

The meeting was attended by the Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner, Revenue and Disaster Management and Consolidation Departments, Rajesh Khullar, Additional Chief Secretary, Labour, Raja Sekhar Vundru, Special Secretary, Home, Mahavir Kaushik, Director General Health Services, Sonia Trikha, and other senior officers of various Departments.