Calcutta police are planning to retain the set-up of the unified command centre created in anticipation of Cyclone Yaas so that various agencies can regroup in the shortest possible time in case of any exigency in the future.
The command centre, on the first floor of the old control room building at the city police headquarters in Lalbazar, had been set up to accommodate officials from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, CESC, public works department, civil defence, National Disaster Response Force, fire and emergency services, forest department, various telcos, the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority and the Rail Vikas Nigam limited (RVNL) under one roof.
Senior officers in Lalbazar and several other agencies said the unified command centre was a first of its kind in Calcutta. It had been operational since Tuesday afternoon. Eight helpline numbers had been created for the centre.
The room for the centre was divided into separate glass cubicles for all the agencies. It has the facility to hold video conferences and has access to all the CCTV cameras installed by the police in the city.
A senior officer said the command centre was set up in less than 48 hours to ensure that all agencies could coordinate within the same room, maintaining Covid protocol.
“This place used to be our old control room. As it has been shifted to the main building (where Calcutta police commissioner and other senior officers have their office), this place was lying unused,” said an officer in Lalbazar.
Overnight, the place underwent changes in terms of setting wooden and glass partitions to ensure that members of the external agencies were not exposed to each other.
As a preparatory move, separate teams comprising members of the different agencies were posted across the city to be on a standby mode from Tuesday, ready to take orders from the unified command.
A PWD official said: “It is always easier to coordinate when all the agencies are getting information at the same time.This way, it is clear to every agency what their role is and where to chip in.”
Last year after Cyclone Amphan had hit the city, apparent lack of coordination between the various agencies had delayed the rescue work.