The Advisory
Committee of the National Disaster management Authority (NDMA) met here today
to discuss the road ahead for the 10-point agenda for Disaster Risk Reduction,
outlined by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
The Prime
Minister had listed the agenda during his inaugural speech at the Asian
Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016, which was held
in New Delhi in November last year. The all-inclusive agenda presents a
holistic approach to disaster risk management and addresses a whole range of
issues, from community preparedness to use of technology and international
cooperation. The Prime Minister’s 10-point agenda on DRR is –
1. All
development sectors must imbibe the principles of disaster risk Management.
2. Work
towards risk coverage for all-starting from poor households to SMEs to
multi-national corporations to nation states.
3. Encourage
greater involvement and leadership of women in disaster risk management.
4. Invest
in risk mapping globally. For mapping risks related to hazards like earthquakes
we have accepted standards and parameters.
5. Leverage
Technology to enhance the efficiency of our disaster risk management efforts.
6. Develop
a network of universities to work on disaster issues.
7. Utilise
the opportunities provided by social media and mobile technologies.
8. Build
on local capacity and initiative.
9. Opportunity
to learn from a disaster must not be wasted. After every disaster there are
papers on lessons that are rarely applied.
10. Bring about
greater cohesion in international response to disasters.
Shri R.K. Jain,
Member, NDMA, welcomed the members of the Committee and briefly explained the
role of the Committee in achieving the goals of DRR. NDMA also made a
presentation underlining the institutional, structural and operational
framework for Disaster Management in the country. It also highlighted the
projects that are underway along with projects that have already been
completed.
A detailed
discussion on the need for multi-hazard preparedness, given the fact that a
primary event brings with it an increased risk of secondary events, such as
landslides following an earthquake, was done. The need for sharing of
resources, leveraging technology, ensuring last mile connectivity, sharing best
practices and success stories and involving the common man was also discussed.
Underlining that
the implementation of guidelines and advisories was a major problem, the
Committee members eMphasised on the role of fixing accountability of
stakeholders in case of a disaster and gaps in response, preparedness and
information dissemination, both in terms of Early Warning Messages and
community awareness. This will help in improving coordination thus enabling better
response.
The importance
of strengthening communities to act as effective first responders during
disasters was underlined. It was further added that academia should be used to
spread awareness and more and more institutes and universities should offer courses
in disaster education.
The 15-member Advisory
Committee consisting of experts from various areas of Disaster Management and
allied disciplines has representatives from academia, governments, Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) and civil society members. The members of the Committee
are: Ms. Sushma Iyengar of Kutch Abhiyan; Secretary General of the Indian Red
Cross; Shri P.P. Shrivastava, Former Special Secretary to Govt. of India and
Former Member North Eastern Council; Dr. S.K. Nanda, Former Additional Chief
Secretary to the Govt. of Gujarat; Dr. R.K. Bhandari, Chairman, Forum on
Engineering Intervention of Disaster Mitigation; Prof. C.V.R. Murthy, IIT
Jodhpur; Prof. Arun Kumar Sarma, IIT Guwahati; Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A.K. Puri,
PVSM, AVSM, Former DGBR; Dr. Y.S. Ramakrishna, Ex-Director, CRIDA (ICAR); Dr.
L.S. Rathore, Former DG, IMD; Sh. Arjun Katoch, Former Chief Field Coordination
Support Section, UNOCHA; Sh. Ranjan Dwivedi, former DGP, UP and Advisor (Cyber
Security), Ministry of Power; Sh. T.P. Singh, Advisor, DietY, Govt. of India,
Dr. Ajay Mathur, DG, TERI and Sh. Chewang Norphel, Chief Project Officer of the
Leh Nutrition Project Housing Colony.
NDMA
Members, Shri Kamal Kishore, Lt. Gen. N.C. Marwah (Retd.) and Dr. D.N. Sharma
also attended the meeting and provided valuable inputs.
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KSD/NK/KM
