India gets a new plan to reduce damage from disasters
New Delhi, June 1: India on Wednesday got its first tiol plan to mage disasters with an aim to make the country “resilient” to and reduce mortality from deadly calamities with effective magement and prevention policies. The tiol Disaster Magement Plan (NDMP), unveiled by Prime Minister rendra Modi, is based on the UN’s Sendai framework, a 15-year blueprint signed last year to reduce deaths and economic losses from disasters the world over. The plan is based on four priorities as were outlined by the UN framework. These include understanding disaster risk, strengthening disaster risk governce, investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response during and in the aftermath of a disaster. “This is the first ever tiol plan prepared in the country,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said, adding it has a “regiol approach...beneficial not only for disaster magement but also for development planning”.
The new plan is significant because India is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and some 200 million Indians are likely to be exposed to tural disasters by 2050 because of rapid urbanization and the extreme weather stemming from climate change, according to a World Bank report. Many Indian cities recently faced deadly tural calamities including in floods in Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra and Assam that left thousands of people dead and losses to properties worth billions of rupees.
The key to battle such deadly events depends on an effective preparedness, including early warning systems and strong infrastructure. The country’s disaster magement has always come under the flake despite the tiol Disaster Magement Authority (NDMA) - in place. But at state-level disaster magement and mitigation has always been lax. The new plan involves all stakeholders including state governments and other government agencies. It sets out targets that will eble disaster magers to reduce possible damage to infrastructure and any disruptions to basic services, including health and education facilities. It also lays down guidelines to increase access to early warning systems and disaster risk information for the public. (IANS)
