Management of disasters

Almost all developing countries have Disaster Management System. Our country, too, has it. The question is how efficient the system is and how far has it been successful in performing well to control the disasters. Recently a big disaster struck Uttarakhand.  Flash floods caused havoc and took thousands of precious lives besides causing unimaginable loss to property. This tragedy brought into focus the Disaster Management Authority, the nodal agency in our country looking after disasters. Many questions were raised about the performance of the agency. Nearer home, recently we witnessed earthquake in Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban belt that caused damage to a large number of houses and roads.
It is obvious that one cannot stop the big disasters like these to happen. It is a natural phenomenon and human beings have to bear the consequences. Why the disasters happen is not within our control but the question and the real purpose of disaster management schemes is to provide quick rescue and relief to the affected people. It is this part that makes the DMA highly relevant. Commenting on recent disaster in Uttarakhand that consumed thousands of innocent lives, NDMA’s Vice Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy disclosed that the States needed to be pro-active in meeting the challenge that a disaster offers. He insists that there should be structural reconstruction of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the top brass for the agency should be appointed on regular basis. He disclosed that some States did not know that the NDMA had money at its disposal to be made available to the States to meet disastrous situations.
Our State also has a Disaster Management Agency but in all probability this is a small and not fairly big agency that would actually rise to occasion when called upon to do so. The State Government should interact with the NDMA and seek guidance from it of how better any disaster challenge can be met. We had a big disaster in Ladakh two years and more ago which caused enormous damage to life and property. Even after the expiry of more than two years, relief and rehabilitation of the victims has not been brought to completion. State Government should not wait a single day to get into touch with the concerned agency and streamline its procedure of meeting disasters in future.

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