NDMA must work towards stopping of creation of new risks, says PMO official

Speaking on the occasion of the National Disaster Management Authority's (NDMA's) 12th formation day on Wednesday, a senior official of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that the NDMA needs to make India disaster resilient.

Delivering a keynote address, Dr. P.K. Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, emphasized upon the need to work towards stopping the creation of new risks, reducing existing risks, and strengthening the response and recovery capacities to manage disasters holistically.

Dr. Mishra said disasters may strike with greater intensity in the future owing to various reasons such as climate change. He said that mainstreaming disaster management activities in governance projects will determine how well we are able to respond to disasters in future.

Dr. Mishra said positive results in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) can only be achieved when particularly the state, district and local governments and community-based organizations come together. He commended the role of NDMA and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in the area of disaster management.

Various states shared their experiences in terms of best practices and innovative technologies for disaster preparedness.

Lt. Gen. N.C. Marwah (Retired), Member, NDMA, invited states to share initiatives so that other states may also benefit from the same.

Assam, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh talked about their flood early warning system and how they deal with this recurring disaster.

For dealing with flood-like situations in Yamunanagar district, Haryana has created Whatsapp and SMS groups with all stakeholders and reviews forecast database every day. Maharashtra has developed GIS applications for mapping disasters and advocated the use of technology in mitigating the impact of disasters.

In the wake of excellent post-disaster work done by Gujarat after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, a memorial - the Smriti Van Memorial - which will be a visual manifestation of hope and courage is also being constructed. Nagaland is one of the first states to form disaster management authorities at the village level.

Rajasthan's Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan is a step forward towards a solution to the water crisis in the arid state. Sikkim shared the mitigation measures that it took to contain the possibility of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood at the South Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim.

Uttar Pradesh highlighted the implementation of a massive capacity building programme right up to the panchayat level. West Bengal has created a mobile application to monitor the progress of Multi-Purpose Cyclone Shelters, being constructed under NDMA's flagship National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project.