PM Modi pitches for ‘proactive’ method, use of know-how in coping with disasters to attenuate injury | India Information

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pitched for a “proactive quite than reactive” method and using future applied sciences in dealing with pure disasters to attenuate injury.
Inaugurating the third session of the Nationwide Platform for Catastrophe Threat Discount (NPDRR) right here, the prime minister mentioned, “We can not cease pure disasters however we will provide you with techniques to attenuate injury from them.”
“We’ve to be proactive quite than reactive. What was the scenario within the nation (earlier) for being proactive and what’s the scenario now? Even after 5 many years of Independence, there was no legislation within the nation to sort out disasters,” he mentioned.
After the 2001 earthquake in Kutch, Gujarat was the primary state to provide you with a catastrophe administration act, he mentioned. On the premise of this act, the Centre enacted the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Act in 2005, he mentioned.
Subsequently the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Authority was arrange.
He identified that it was pure for earlier governments to position catastrophe reduction with the agricultural division.
He recalled that when pure calamities like earthquakes struck earlier, it was dealt on the native stage with the assistance of native sources.
The prime minister highlighted that the world over it’s a norm to study from one another’s strengths.
He confused the necessity to develop a dynamic system to cope with pure calamities.
Modi mentioned that by finding out pure calamities of the previous century, an correct assumption might be made, and in addition confused on revising these strategies in due time, be it materials or system.
He mentioned in India the system, options and technique of catastrophe administration have at all times been native.
Citing the instance of the “bhunga” homes of Kutch which survived the earthquake to a big extent, the prime minister confused the necessity to evolve native fashions of housing and city planning as per new applied sciences.
“Enriching native know-how and materials with the brand new know-how is the necessity of the hour. Once we hyperlink the examples of native resilience with future know-how, solely then we can do higher within the path of catastrophe resilience,” he mentioned.
He mentioned conventional housing and city planning course of needs to be enriched with future know-how to higher handle catastrophe planning, and added real-time evaluation of resilience of native infrastructure was the necessity of the hour.
“Custom and know-how are our inherent power. We will use it to construct mannequin for catastrophe resilience not just for India however for total world,” he mentioned.
The prime minister mentioned there’s a must develop fashions of housing or city planning on the native stage.
“Data on facets akin to age of homes, drainage, resilience of our electrical energy and water infrastructure will assist in taking proactive steps,” he mentioned.
He emphasised the necessity to strengthen catastrophe administration governance within the native our bodies.
“We should institutionalise planning and evaluate native planning,” he added.
The prime minister additionally pitched for encouraging the participation of locals in catastrophe administration.
“You’re going to get success solely by following the mantra of ‘native resilience by native participation’,” he mentioned and appealed to stakeholders to coach youth and ladies — “Yuvak Mandals” and “Sakhi Mandals” — at village and neighbourhood ranges.
The prime minister cited his dialogue on hospital fires throughout his current evaluate assembly on the heatwave and the way common evaluate of fireplace preparedness at hospital can save lives.
He highlighted the rise in fireplace incidents in dense city areas akin to a hospital, manufacturing facility, resort or multi-storey residential constructing prior to now few years, particularly with the growing warmth.
Modi mentioned challenges of getting to work very systematically in densely populated areas the place reaching by a automobile is a troublesome job and insisted on discovering an answer for this.
He known as for continually growing the skill-set of firefighters with the intention to extinguish the fireplace in high-rise buildings whereas additionally ensuring that there are sufficient sources to extinguish industrial fires.
He mentioned recognition and reforms are essential to strengthen catastrophe administration.
Recognition refers to understanding the chance of a catastrophe and areas the place it could possibly strike in future and reforms means system to scale back the probabilities of catastrophe, he mentioned.
Modi mentioned it needs to be a matter of delight for each Indian that the complete world has applauded the nation’s catastrophe reduction work after the huge earthquake in Turkiye and Syria. The huge earthquake final month killed at the least 50,000 individuals and injured many extra in these two international locations.
“The best way India has developed reduction and rescue associated human useful resource and know-how capability has helped the nation in saving lives throughout pure disasters within the nation,” the Prime Minister mentioned.
He knowledgeable that greater than 100 international locations have joined the Coalition for Catastrophe Resilient Infrastructure fashioned underneath India’s management.
Modi requested the stakeholders to look into using drones, devices for alerting, and private devices that may assist in finding individuals buried underneath particles.
He requested the consultants to review the work of world social our bodies which are creating new techniques and applied sciences and undertake finest practices.
He mentioned the theme for this yr’s occasion is “constructing native resilience in altering local weather” with which India is properly acquainted as a result of it’s a part of our conventional data.
The NPDRR, chaired by Union House Minister Amit Shah, is a multi-stakeholder platform constituted by the federal government to facilitate dialogue and share experiences, views, concepts, action-oriented analysis and discover alternatives within the space of catastrophe danger discount.
Talking on the event, House Minister Shah mentioned the time has come to boost talent and pace in issues associated to catastrophe administration.
“We not solely might cut back the deaths but additionally helped different nations in tackling pure calamities. Just lately we had despatched NDRF (Nationwide Catastrophe Response Power) to Turkiye and their extraordinary work was praised the world over,” he mentioned.
The house minister mentioned that earlier than 1999, there was no correct system of catastrophe administration.
“What we did at the moment was solely offering reduction and to some extent rehabilitation however within the final 9 years we’ve extensively arrange early warning techniques which helped us in dealing with pure calamities efficiently,” he mentioned.
Prior to now few years, India has witnessed a paradigm shift in catastrophe administration with its “think-ahead method”, Shah mentioned.
Through the programme, the prime minister felicitated awardees of the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for 2023 — Odisha State Catastrophe Administration Authority (OSDMA) and the Lunglei Hearth Station, Mizoram.
Later, in a tweet, Modi mentioned, “The hassle of Lunglei Hearth Station, Mizoram within the wake of a large forest fireplace in 2021 ensured numerous lives and property had been saved, and the unfold of the fireplace was curtailed. They’re worthy recipients of the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.”
“Odisha State Catastrophe Administration Authority has been doing pioneering work in catastrophe preparedness, significantly with regard to cyclones. This group has utilised newest know-how to avoid wasting lives. Glad that they’ve been conferred the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar,” he mentioned in one other tweet.