A four-member mission of the UNDP, comprising of Monitoring Expert Koen Versavel, National Early Recovery Programme Manager Zulfiqar Y Rao, National Programme Officer Hidayat Ullah Khan and SMU Hin Wisal met with Punjab Disaster Management Authority Director General Mujahid Sherdil at his office, on Wednesday.
PDMA Operations director, Administration director and Provincial DRM coordinator, were also present in the meeting.
In response to the question of the utilisation of funds, Sherdil said the funds provided to the PDMA were being used to strengthen the PDMA by developing a wireless-based network system in seven Punjab districts in the initial phase of the project, while four more districts will be covered in the second phase.
The system will help to communicate more effectively and enhance the efficiency of relief operations.
He added that the control, command and communication centre established in the PDMA premises is equipped with conference call, multimedia and audio system facilities and will support all government departments in integrated planning for relief activities during emergencies.
He explained that with the support and assistance of the District DRM Coordinators’ team in nine disaster-prone areas of the Punjab, the PDMA is collecting information and data from both sides of a 10 Km long river belt area.
The data will include information about the population, government buildings and the socio-economic situation of the areas.
The locations in the settlements will be marked through a GIS system.
