Central Control Room set-up to monitor corona operation

ISLAMABAD (APP): A Central Control Room (CCR) has been set up at Jammu and Kashmir House Islamabad here on Tuesday to further improve the interdepartmental coordination and monitoring during the corona combat operation of the state government.

The control room has been established on the special directives AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan.

The AJK prime minister would personally monitor the control room activities while information minister and Chief Organizer of PML-N state chapter Raja Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas and Minister of State for Disaster Management Authority Ahmed Raza Qadri would share the key responsibilities of the CCR.

Speaking on the occasion, Raja Mushtaq said AJK and federal government, oppositions and other authorities concerned were engaged in their respective work to deal with such crisis situation created by the COVID-19.

“Coronavirus is not the issue of any single country. It is a pandemic which needs to be tackled through cohesive and effective strategy”, he asserted.

He said AJK prime minister had refused to take medical rest advised by the doctors after his eyes surgery and devoted himself for the safety of masses. “He himself is monitoring all ongoing operation against the deadly virus throughout the state”, He informed.

Mushtaq Minhas said CCR aims to improve the inter-departmental coordination. The control room would also help aligning the decisions made by State Coordination Committee and federal government.

“In case of need, CCR has been assigned the responsibility of establishing contact and organizing video-link meeting between PM, chief secretary offices, representatives’ of Pak Army, secretaries, commissioners and other officials concerned,” the minister said.

He further informed that AJK government had decided to identify fifty thousand families initially for which, a committee had constituted under the chairmanship of Senior Member Board of Revenue Fayyaz Ali Abbasi.

“The committee is mandated to compile the list of deserving families and devising a comprehensive strategy to financially support the poor, daily wagers and other underprivileged segments of the society for four months period,” he added. He, however, made it clear that such financial assistance would be done separately from BISP.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed Raza Qadri said the CCR would also facilitate coordination between state, federal institutions and donor agencies to effectively tackle with the situation.

The minister said state government had ensured the provision of personal protective equipments (PPEs) to the doctors and paramedical staff throughout the state including masks, safety kits and other protective equipments to the security officials performing their duties round the clock and other government employees.

He told that state government itself purchased such safety material. “However, federal government has committed to provide ventilators and PCR machines”, he added.