Each district to have Emergency Operation Centre shortly
Existing alerts dissemination system to be strengthened
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU. Apr 13: An exercise is going on to identify various natural hazards to which Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is vulnerable so that roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders concerned with various phases of disaster management are clearly defined. Moreover, State of Art District Emergency Operation Centre would be set up in all 20 districts of the UT for effective management of disaster risks and existing alerts dissemination systems to be strengthened.
According to an official document, in order to ensure disaster-resilient Union Territory, the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Jammu and Kashmir is working on the identification of various natural hazards to which UT is vulnerable so that measures and guidelines for prevention and mitigation, building the capacity of all stakeholders to cope with the disasters are finalized.
“Moreover, after identification of natural hazards the Government will clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders concerned with various phases of disaster management etc”, the document said, adding “there will also be enough focus on hazard mapping, vulnerability assessment and impact assessment for various sectors and different regions and forecasts, early warning/ alerts regarding various meteorological events and hazards will be further strengthened to reach the last mile”.
Further, State of Art District Emergency Operation Centre would be set up in all 20 districts of UT of Jammu and Kashmir in order to help the UT/ District Administration in enhancing the capacity of the UT/District in managing disaster risks, enhancing preparedness and resilient recovery.
“The Government is focusing on enhancing the capacity of all stakeholders to respond to disasters in a planned way to minimize the loss of lives and economic loss in different forms including critical infrastructure, basic services including health and educational facilities along with social, cultural & environmental loss”, the document said.
In order to strengthen Disaster Management Authority of hazard prone districts, 2 districts namely Kupwara and Baramulla have been covered under the Central Sector Scheme—“Strengthening of Disaster Management Authority of Hazard Prone Districts” with the aim to strengthen the infrastructure, capacity and framing of District Disaster Management Plan to face any eventuality arising out of disaster.
“In consonance with National Disaster Management Plan 2019, the UT Disaster Management Plan has been prepared/ updated and the Government has also signed the MoU with National Disaster Management Authority for implementation of Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) to integrate the disaster calls in Dail-112”, the document further said.
Through Common Alert Protocol (CAP) the dissemination of targeted alerts and advisories are being provided to people living in disaster-prone areas in vernacular languages over all available communication media including SMS, Cell Broadcast, Radio, TV, Siren, Social Media, Web Portals and Mobile Applications. The CAP was successfully implemented during Shri Amarnath JI Yatra 2022.
According to the document, in order to face any eventuality arising out of disaster, the Department of Disaster Management under the scheme up-scaling of Aapda Mitra, has imparted training to large number of community volunteers of 13 districts by ending March 2023 through State Disaster Response Force’s two battalions.
Moreover, capacity building is being done at all levels (local people, local administration, community-level organizations like NGOs etc) and alignment of State Plans (SDMP) and District Plans (DDMP) is being done in accordance with the Sendai Framework, which focuses on the adoption of measures that address the three dimensions of disaster risk (exposure to hazards, vulnerability and capacity, and hazard’s characteristics) in order to prevent the creation of new risk, reduce existing risk and increase resilience.
Moreover, enough thrust is being laid on coordinating mock drills, compiling reports, compiling data during disasters etc, enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
“The Government is also compiling and timely furnishing data and information to NDMA on disaster aspects, implementation of NDMA Schemes, and Sendai Framework Monitoring indicators. Moreover, reports about the lessons learnt and best practices from other States/UTs are being collected and exchanged”, the document said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
