Proactive approach by Centre and state govts needed

Proactive approach by Centre and state govts needed

Manipal, Oct 15: Disaster management requires multi-disciplinary and pro-active approach by the central and state governments, the community and civil society organisations, a top official of the National Disaster Reduction force said on Monday. In the wake of the Orissa 'super cyclone,' and Gujarat earthquake, the Centre in the tenth plan has recognised disaster management as a "development issue", said D K Shami, Fire Adviser, Director General (NDRF) and Civil Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, at the 'International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction' at Manipal Institute of Technology here. Disaster, both natural and man-made, is inevitable, he said and sought a multi-pronged strategy for total risk management, comprising prevention, preparedness, response and recovery on the one hand and initiating development efforts aimed towards risk reduction, on the other. Detailing the many initiatives taken during the plan period, Shami said civil defence set up in the country is being revamped and further strengthened to supplement local efforts for disaster response and relief. Similarly, fire services are being modernised to convert them into multi-hazard response units. Bureau of Indian standards has issued new building codes for construction of different types of buildings in different seismic zones of the country. Two national programmes to train 10,000 engineers and 10,000 architects on safe construction architectural practices is under implementation, he said, adding a community-based programme is under implementation in 169 multi-hazard districts in 17 states and union territories. For more info  log on to  Disaster Awareness