(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Sidi Mohamed / The Peninsula
The Joint Rainfall Emergency Committee of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment is all set to deal with rainwater as it started its preparations three months ago.
'The committee which is in charge of handling rainfall emergencies is ready to drain out rainwater and started its meetings with authorities concerned before the beginning of the rain season. The municipalities are equipped with all the necessary equipment they need to drain the rainwater, said Safar Mubarak Al Shafi, the head of the committee and Director of General Cleanness Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.
'From our previous experience, we have marked the water logging areas and we are treating them on priority in collaboration with Ashghal, Al Shafi added yesterday while speaking on a talk-in radio programme 'Watani Al Habib, on Qatar Radio.
The areas outside Doha, the committee has installed pumps to drain out the rainwater and has also found solutions to places which are low and gather water like Duhail, he noted, adding that Ashghal from the beginning to the third quarter of this year has cleaned and done maintenance of 82,000 drainage holes for fast drainage of water.
About the black spots which the committee is giving priority, he said that they were including subways, public roads, residential areas which were low-lying like Duhail, schools and commercial streets.
Regarding the challenges which were being faced by the committee, Al Shafi pointed out that there are some challenges like traffic and closure in some streets and the committee was in coordination with traffic department to counter such challenges.
The committee has offered a number of phone lines to receive people's complaints either through the municipalities or through the control room at Ashghal.
The Rainfall Emergency Committee was formed by the ministerial decision number 245 by the Minister of Municipality and Environment and it is comprised of 14 members among them 11 members from the Ministry of Municipality and three members form the Public Works Authority, Ashghal, the Ministry of Interior and Lekhwiya each, in addition to an assistant from Qatar Meteorology Department, who provides warnings and forecasts to the committee for its proper planning.
'As a committee, our job is to formulate a strategy plan and to find solution for fast drainage of rainwater especially in the places usually see water logging which we call ‘black spots'. The technical teams are equipped with all necessary equipment and facilities needed to accomplish the job, he added.
Al Shafi also advised people to be sure about the holes for discharging water and be ready at their homes and not leave the water at roof of the houses.
Last year the municipalities used 349 tankers, 45 pumps and 543 workers and employees of the Ministry to remove the rainwater. The team were worked round the clock to tackle water logging in a record time. During the rainy days, they were working 24 hours without any stop.
The Ministry of Municipality has a control room in collaboration with Ashghal. It is equipped with hotlines to receive reports, queries and complaints from the public which are then transferred to authorities concerned..
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