2-day disaster management exercise to be held in Rajasthan

A two-day joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise "Rahat" will be held in Rajasthan's Jaipur, Alwar and Kota cities to improve coordination between agencies in responding to natural disasters like earthquakes, an official said Monday.

The exercise conducted by the Indian Army's South Western Command is in pursuance to the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Combined Commanders Conference 2015.

Representatives of the armed forces, national and state disaster management authorities will be participating in the exercise on February 11 and 12, the official said.

"The exercise will be conducted simultaneously at three places beginning at Jaipur in the form of table top exercise and at Kota and Alwar wherein on ground capabilities and coordination will be displayed," South Western Army Commander Lieutenant General Cherish Mathson told reporters.

The exercise will assess the effectiveness of plans, organisation procedures, command and control structure, functioning of the NDRF and the SDRF, he said.

It will comprise of a seminar on disaster management in the country, tabletop exercise and field exercise.

Rajasthan has three tectonic faults -- Konoi fault, great boundary fault and Jaipur depression.

Lieutenant General Mathson said some of the areas of Rajasthan fall under seismic zone 4 and are earthquake prone. The exercise will assess the effectiveness of plans and coordination among various agencies.