'Disasters have become more frequent, intense in last 15 yrs'

India is a disaster prone country and for the last one-and-half decade, disasters have become more frequent and intense, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said today.
Inaugurating a day-long national level consultation on 'Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction' here, Rijiju said the 2013 Uttarakhand flood and the recent flood in Jammu and Kashmir have overwhelmed the coping capacity of our community, government and society.
He emphasised the need for a change of outlook towards disaster risk reduction at every level and said there was a need to strengthen the individual capacity to deal with the impact of disasters in view of large scale unfolding disaster and climate change scenario, an official release said.

"Addressing risks should be the focus of all development programmes and schemes," Rijiju said.
The minister advocated for equal participation of all the stakeholders in risk reduction activities and emphasised the need to give special attention to vulnerable sections like women, children, old and disabled of the society.
Recognising the importance of planned and sustainable recovery, he said the government was committed to formulate the disaster recovery framework and to contribute towards global efforts in promoting disaster resilient community.

The deliberations during the meeting focused on elements of a post-2015 draft of 'Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction', with a view to set the direction for future global disaster reduction efforts.

The aim was to solicit the views of diverse stakeholders from the government, NGOs, private sector, academic institutions, UN and other International Agencies on the salient provisions of the draft framework.
It was informed to the minister that the recommendations and suggestions emerging from this workshop would help the government in firming its views on the Post-2015 Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction.