SRINAGAR, JUNE 1: Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lt General N C Marwah along with Chief Secretary B B Vyas Friday chaired a meeting here to review the disaster preparedness and implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of NDMA in Jammu and Kashmir.
Vice-Chairman, J&K IMPARD, Financial Commissioner, Revenue, ADG CD, HG, SDRF, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Secretary, DMRR&R, DG Health, Director Fire & Emergency Service, Director Disaster Management, Assistant Director IMD and other senior officers participated in the meeting. Deputy Commissioners (DCs) participated in the meeting through video concerning.
Director, Disaster Management, Aamir Ali gave a brief overview of the status of disaster preparedness in Jammu and Kashmir and the recent mitigation initiatives undertaken by the department in collaboration with various stakeholders including State, Divisional and District Disaster Management Authorities besides SDRF, Civil Defence, Red Cross and various NGOs.
Lt General N C Marwah appreciated the total commitment of the State Government in dealing with disasters and the recent initiatives taken by it including the creation of a State Disaster Mitigation Fund. He said J&K is actively participating in the various workshops & conferences of the NDMA, organised across the country and state has already incorporated several best practices in its Disaster Management Policy/Plans including at the level of the Community Disaster Preparedness.
Assuring total support of the NDMA to Jammu and Kashmir State in its efforts towards disaster risk management, Lt General N C Marwah said that as requested by the State Government, one Battalion of NDRF will be stationed in J&K shortly. Additionally, he said, in view of upcoming Shri Amarnathji Yatra-2018, as many as four fully equipped NDRF teams will be deployed.
He said to strengthen the early warning weather system in the state; three Doppler Radar Stations will be commissioned by the IMD shortly in addition to setting up of 10 small weather stations for the ensuing Shri Amarnathji Yatra. He said to strengthen the emergency communication equipment; NDMA will be providing adequate number of satellite phones to the state.
Lt General N C Marwah informed that as part of the Landslide Mitigation and Prevention Programme, State Governments including J&K have been asked to prepare Detailed Project Reports for Site Specific Landslides Risk Mitigation in accordance with the template prepared for the purpose by experts drawn from NDMA, CBRI, CRRI and GSI. He said Rs 15 Crore is being proposed for each landslide mitigation site.
He also spoke about some of the proposed pilot projects including the ‘Common Alert Protocol’, Priority Call Routing’ and ‘Low Cost Early Warning Sensors’, assuring that J&K will be part of these pilot projects. He said NDMA will also be organizing a State Level Exercise on Disaster Management in Jammu and Kashmir in the later part of this year.
Member, NDMA urged the DCs to upload updated list of the inventory of various resources including human resource and equipment available in the district on the India Disaster Resource Network (IDRN) Website. He said the database will enable them to assess the level of preparedness for specific disasters in the district.
Chief Secretary thanked Lt General N C Marwah and the NDMA for their support to the State in its effort to prevent and tackle disasters.
