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Vijayawada: In view of Cyclone Montha, the NTR district administration and Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) have stepped up extensive precautionary measures to ensure public safety, particularly in hill and low-lying areas.Minister for Medical and Health and NTR district in-charge Satya Kumar Yadav, along with district collector Dr G. Lakshmisha and VMC commissioner H.M. Dhyanachandra, reviewed control room operations at the Collectorate on Tuesday.The minister said real-time monitoring teams have been deployed across vulnerable areas as per the directions of the State Disaster Management Authority and RTGS. Rapid Response Teams are on standby to address any emergency, he added. Special focus has been placed on hill localities within Vijayawada urban limits, where landslides are possible. People from risk-prone areas have been moved to rehabilitation centres equipped with essential facilities. Pregnant women and those needing urgent medical care have been shifted to nearby hospitals.The district administration has identified 25 weak roads and six tanks for close monitoring and placed all PHC vehicles and emergency services (108 and 104) on alert.Later, the minister visited the rehabilitation centre at Rakesh EM High School in Chittinagar and interacted with evacuees, expressing satisfaction with the arrangements and assuring residents that there was no cause for panic.VMC commissioner Dhyanachandra said 41 rehabilitation centres have been opened across the city, providing meals and essential services to displaced families. By Tuesday afternoon, 146 people had received food and assistance. Awareness drives were conducted through autos fitted with public mikes, urging residents in vulnerable zones to move to safer locations.The corporation also removed 60 dangerous trees, 243 hoardings, and relocated 151 families from unsafe buildings. Special sanitation drives were launched with 100 additional workers, while 20 JCBs and nine long-arm machines were deployed for drain de-silting. Thirteen electric poles were replaced, and fogging and mosquito-control measures intensified at all centres.
