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The year 2023 has been marked by some of the most tragic and challenging accidents and disasters, ranging from the Balasore train accident that killed nearly 300 people and floods in Sikkim, to the latest Silkyara rescue mission which successfully concluded on Tuesday.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was at the forefront of the rescue mission that culminated with the pulling out of 41 workers who were trapped in the tunnel for over 17 days.
Following the recent incidents, India’s apex disaster management body is now gearing up to deal with new disasters and challenges, and working to prepare fresh guidelines for rail and tunnel accidents, National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA’s) member Syed Ata Hasnain told Business Standard.
“The Balasore tragedy was the first time that the Indian Railways and NDMA came together… We held a number of feedback sessions to understand the shortcomings and put them together in the form of mock exercises. The accident initiated the thought that we’ve never had mock exercises on train accidents,” he said.
The NDMA recently did a mock exercise with the Prayagraj division of the Indian Railways and the lessons learnt during Balasore were applied to these exercises. The guidelines on tunnel, rail, and other accidents will also focus on the prevention and mitigation of these disasters in the first place. It assumes significance as a number of such accidents take place due to systemic errors in infrastructure planning.
Concerns were raised about the lack of escape routes in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel, which led to the trapping of workers.
“When it comes to developing guidelines on tunnel rescues, these issues (escape routes) will definitely be touched upon,” Hasnain said.
Officials said that there are several aspects of modern infrastructure that need to become disaster-resilient, especially in fragile geologies.
A number of these developments are being deliberated on and will be included in the national disaster management plan of 2024.
In accordance with the Disaster Management Act of 2005, every ministry is required to formulate a disaster management plan and have it vetted and cleared by the NDMA.
“Some ministries have done it, others have not,” said Hasnain.
The apex disaster management body is also seriously looking at the impact of climate change on natural disasters.
“Issues like national disasters and climate change, and climate change with respect to national security are all in the melting pot at the moment, and we are going to study this next year,” the NDMA member said.
