Centre asks states to be better prepared for monsoon to avoid losses

The Centre on Wednesday asked state governments to be better prepared during the monsoon so that losses due to natural disasters such as floods cyclones and landslides can be minimisedIn his address during the annual conference of relief commissioners and secretaries of departments of disaster management of various states and Union Territories Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla stressed the need for building up capacities and response reflexes to ensure round the clock preparedness throughout the yearThe home secretary asked officials from the state as well as central government to be better prepared so that losses due to natural disasters such as floods cyclones landslides can be minimised an official statement saidHe referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision to develop infrastructure for the long term to prevent disasters not only for ourselves but also for future generationsBhalla observed that through continued efforts over the last several years the disaster management system has been able to reduce the impact of natural disasters on human livesThe twoday conference is being held to review the preparedness of states and UTs for dealing with any natural disasters that may occur during the coming southwest monsoon seasonThis conference is being held in physical mode after a gap of two years due to the Covid19 pandemicThe home secretary observed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that after 2014 there has been a big change in the approach to disaster management as earlier the approach was only reliefcentric but now the approach of saving human lives has become an additional component of disaster managementIt should be ensured that lives as far as possible should not be lost in incidents such as heat waves and lightning he emphasisedBhalla underlined the importance of taking the right steps and investing resources in a timely manner to further reduce risksAttempts should be made to increase efforts towards risk reduction and mitigation with the aim to reduce loss of human life to near zero he saidHe called on states to undertake capacity building of urban local bodies their State Disaster Response Forces SDRFs fire service and civil defence since they are the first responders during a calamityHe also emphasised the importance of building capacities at the city and district levels and involving communitiesThe home secretary said besides floods in recent years cyclonic storms forest fires heatwave conditions and lightning strikes have shown an increasing trendHe stressed that the key to effective disaster risk management is to build synergies and effective coordination amongst institutionsThis could be ensured by preparing action plans at local district and state levels he saidDuring the conference various states will share their preparedness experience and best practices evolved for handling various calamities over the yearsRepresentatives of 27 states seven UTs representatives of the National Disaster Management Authority NDMA the National Disaster Response Force NDRF central ministries the Central Armed Police Forces CAPFs and the India Meteorological Department IMD are participating in the conferenceOfficials of the Central Water Commission CWC the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO the Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO the Geological Survey of India GSI and other scientific organizations along with the Armed Forces are taking part in the conferenceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever