Synergy among agencies vital in dealing with disasters: Rijiju

Union minister Kiren Rijiju said today that coordination among different agencies is the key in dealing with disasters.
The country will have to handle disasters effectively for the development march to go unhindered, said Rijiju, who is the minister of state for home affairs and heads the disaster management division in the ministry.
"India itself is a very disaster-prone nation. Look at the map of India. A huge peninsula, great Himalayan mountains, dense forests and deserts of the west...potential areas for disaster. Then, a dream of making India great will have to face these obstacles," the minister said.
He made the remarks while speaking at a seminar on disaster management organised at the College of Defence Management here.

The Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is trying to ensure that all development projects like airports are built to appropriate disaster management standards, Rijiju said.
The Union home ministry has now gone beyond disaster management to disaster risk management that emphasises on prevention of disasters, he said.

The country is capable of dealing with disasters, as a national policy, an Act in Parliament and the agencies concerned are in place right up to the district level, but the synergy among the agencies is significant, he said.
"The vertical structure is already in place. Now it is the horizontal coordination for which this particular event is taking place," Rijiju said, referring to the joint exercise of the armed forces and other agencies to make combined efforts for disaster management, to be held here tomorrow.

The minister also stressed on the importance of quick response to effectively reduce damages in the event of a disaster.
'Pralay Sahayam', conceptualised as a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise and supported by the Telangana government in conjunction with the armed forces and other disaster mitigation agencies, will be held at the Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad tomorrow.