Letters: Tapping the Army

Apropos the report "Disaster management authority a disaster?" (July 21), the name alone is a misnomer since it has no authority and no one listens to it. Not surprising since the prime minister is the chairman and the vice-chairman is another politico whose disaster management experience probably extends only to salvaging his own reputation after every disaster. But he is "learning" - at the cost of other people's lives. If we really want a class National Disaster Management Authority, we have a ready-made force that can be renewed every year to tackle such situations. About 1,500 officers and 30,000 other ranks from the armed forces retire every year at a young age, a policy necessitated by the need to keep the Army fit. Many are from the Corps of Engineers, Army Medical Corps, Signals Corps, Electrical & Mechanical Corps, possessing the very expertise necessary in such situations. All that is required is to mobilise them into a versatile disaster management force that can rush and start work as soon as a calamity strikes. Psychologically, an affected population takes a kinder and more amenable attitude towards "outsiders" who come to help since the "insiders" are seen as responsible for their plight.

T R Ramaswami Mumbai

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