Disaster management plan need of the hour: Experts

MUMBAI, JUNE 20: Experts from different professions today discussed the importance of preparing a comprehensive disaster management plan for...

MUMBAI, JUNE 20: Experts from different professions today discussed the importance of preparing a comprehensive disaster management plan for Mumbai and stressed the need for the development of a strong communication network between government agencies to effectively counter the effects of disasters.

Speaking at a seminar on Disaster Management Plan for Mumbai, Chairman of the CII Taskforce for Mumbai, Arun Nanda, said, no disaster management plan could succeed unless the latest communication devices like ham radio, e-mail and mobile phones were put to optimum use to spread the information pertaining to a disaster.

8220;Mumbai is one of the most congested and densely populated cities in the world, but it has only four exit points. The entire south Mumbai is connected to the central and northern suburbs by just a couple of roads and evacuation of the population in case of a massive calamity would be virtually impossible,8221; Nanda pointed out.

8220;In August, last year, when the deluge crippled suburban railwayservices and flooded almost all roads, thousands of people were stranded on the streets. Proper and timely information could have saved them a lot of trouble,8221; Nanda said.

Praising the State government for having undertaken the initiative to prepare a comprehensive disaster management plan, Nanda suggested that the DMP would be a success only if the masses, organised citizens groups and voluntary organisations were involved in its preparation and execution.

Agreeing with Nanda8217;s view, former Mumbai commissioner of police, Satish Sawhney, said, 8220;The very thought of evacuating people from Mumbai is full of horror. It would be virtually impossible to control the situation if a cyclone as intense as the one that ravaged Gujarat coast were to hit Mumbai.8221;

Sawhney advocated the resurgence of the 25,000 strong civil defence force in the State to meet the situation by means of an amendment to the civil defence law. 8220;Even the training schedule need to be changed,8221; he added.

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Financial editor of The Timesof India, Sucheta Dalal, highlighted the transport and other infrastructural problems in the city and demanded the framing of a legislation to effectively deal with such situations. Terming the State government8217;s initiative in preparing a DMP as 8220;good news,8221; Dalal said that in times of disasters, there 8220;was no substitute to the role of the government machinery.8221; At the same time, the bureaucrats should give accurate information to the press to avoid distorted reports, she said.

Former chief secretary of Maharashtra, J B D8217;souza, said the government should do a case study of all past disasters and discuss them at length to frame an effective DMP for the city.