Miles to go in disaster management

Kalyani Shankar
In the last one week, we have had two disasters – the cyclone in Orissa and the temple stampede in Madhya Pradesh. One was natural while the other was manmade. Why was tackling Phailin a success and the temple tragedy killing more than a hundred a disaster? How did Orissa get it right while MP did not? In fact, both the Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan have been heading stable governments for about a decade and are perceived as able men leading their states.
One cannot feel elated by just one example although we are learning to cope with the nature’s fury. India has had several natural disasters including 1977 cyclone in Andhra Pradesh, the Tsunami in Tamil Nadu, 1999 supercyclone in Orissa or the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat. At the beginning of this monsoon session, the Kedarnath tragedy also left several homeless, as the Uttarakhand administration was unprepared. Now coordination was faster and smoother; perhaps because of the flak Government agencies had received after the Uttarakhand disaster. In fact, since 2009, all major cyclones to hit the East coast – Aila, Thane, and Nilam – have been predicted well in advance minimising the loss to human life. The Met department and other scientific agencies had been equipped with advance warning equipments.
Orissa proved this time that what is required to face natural calamities is perfect coordination between the centre, state and several Government agencies and trained personnel apart from political will. Also Orissa and Andhra Pradesh were prepared as Phailin was predicted three days in advance during which time the Government – both the centre and the states swung into action. About five lakh people were evacuated from the wrath of the cyclone to safer places. Orissa has developed a system of communicating cyclone warnings – through mass media, public address systems and religious places. More importantly some see the 2014 elections as one of the reasons for the prompt action by the state as well as the Congress-led UPA. While Patnaik is having prime ministerial ambitions, the Congress wants to keep him on the right side for a post poll alliance.
The Congress-led UPA at the centre is of course trying to take credit for the success in tackling the cyclone while blaming Chauhan for the temple tragedy. The centre certainly went all out to tackle the Orissa cyclone and almost all the central ministries were prompt in extending services to Orissa and Andhra Pradesh – the two states facing cyclone. It claims that Oil ministry has ensured that all categories of fuel were in abundant supply in all the affected areas. Power ministry has sent teams to restart power lines in the affected areas. It has also alerted the telecom companies to back up communication facilities. The restoration of train services too was prompt.   Army, navy and air force have been pressed into service.
This brings us to the larger question. The stampede in the Madhya Pradesh temple, tells us that we should not celebrate success too soon. One success cannot be read as turnaround in Indian governance and there is need to build on the success of Phailin story and further improve the system. The kudos received after Phailin shows that while this should be a treated as a benchmark, there is also need to set high standards for what the government can and should do. The science has advanced so much that much more investment should be made in disaster management perhaps taking a leaf from countries like Japan. According to a recent review, while all states are supposed to have a disaster management plans ready to meet any eventuality, some states including Madhya Pradesh were still not ready with one.
Secondly although the Government has woken up after the Tsunami, skills are still inadequate to handle manmade calamities. Sunday’s stampede on the bridge across the Sindh River was an avoidable tragedy. The district administration never anticipated such a stampede and was therefore unprepared. The judicial inquiry may bring out the truth about various conflicting claims. Some fear that this might make a dent in Chauhan’s popularity as an administrator.
The NDMA has recently released a study on crowd management. This includes a snake like approach, getting more administrative reinforcement for regulating the crowds and formulating plans for the dignitaries. It also suggested that the emergency exits should not be blocked and VIP entry should be refused if it hindered the safety concerns. Devotees throng temples on auspicious occasions and there should be a system to ensure orderly “darshan” for all. These should be enforced by all states in crowded places.
Thirdly a committed administration can deliver as the Patnaik Government has proved. The Orissa Chief Secretary is said to have sent out a circular holding the district administration accountable for rescue and relief work. This has worked well. The cooperation between the central and the state authorities certainly proved beneficial for facing the cyclone.
Fourthly and more importantly politics should not come in the way of public service, more so in a coalition era where regional leaders are growing. What is needed is political will. Above all, even in Orissa, although relief operations had been a success, there is still the challenge of rehabilitation.  Hopefully the State Governments would tackle this with equal fervour.  (IPA )

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