Jammu, May 05 (Scoop News) – A Seminar on Disaster Management was conducted by Headquarter 16 Corps today on behalf of Headquarter Northern Command at Nagrota. The seminar was attended by a number of senior serving and retired Army Officers and officers from Police, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and distinguished civilians in the field of Disaster Management. The Seminar was intended to serve as a platform to brainstorm various issues related to Disaster Management and discuss role of the Army and Civil Administration in mitigation and relief on occurrence of such calamities.
Lt General Jai Prakash Nehra, General Officer Commanding 16 Corps welcomed all the speakers and participants. The Key note Address was delivered by Lt General KT Parnaik, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command. The Seminar was attended by many eminent speakers of national repute which included Dr Muzaffar Ahmad, member NDMA, Major General RK Kaushal, (Retired), Senior Specialist NDMA, Major General GD Bakshi, (Retired), a renowned Strategic Analyst, Dr Chandan Ghosh, a leading Geologist from NIDM, Vishnu Som, from NDTV and Dr Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu.
While delivering the keynote address General Parnaik said, “We have demonstrated our national vision of making a paradigm shift from post disaster response to improving the pre disaster preparedness, initiating disaster mitigation projects and strengthening the emergency response capabilities in the country. However, much needs to be done still, if we have to follow the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.” The General also emphasised that since Jammu and Kashmir is in Seismic Zone IV and Kashmir Valley is in most dangerous Zone V, the need for preparedness in the State was even greater. The Army Commander highlighted the role played by Army during the recent cloud burst in Leh, snow tsunami and earthquake in the past. Later, interacting with the media persons the Army Commander said that India was fully prepared to deal with any situation arising as a fall out of Osama bin Laden’s death. Replying to a media query, General Parnaik said that exact details of terrorist camps across the Line of Control were available and had been shared with agencies concerned.
During the first session Dr Chandan Ghosh showed with the help of photographs as to how the basic mitigation requirements are not being fulfilled during the construction of buildings in Jammu and nearby areas. He said it was mainly because of the ignorance and the absence of clearly defined supervision mechanism for ensuring adherence to the IS Codes.
In the second session, Dr Pawan Kotwal informed about the steps initiated by the State Govt with regard to dealing with the small and frequent disasters like landslides. He informed that more than 1100 persons died last year due to road accidents in the state which is much more than those dying due to militancy. Later, concluding the Session General Nehra informed the audience that Army was providing relief in such disasters and road accidents almost on daily basis. “The aim of the Army in showing such promptness was to save the precious lives of our brothers and sisters. Even when the known OGWs are in need, the Army provides the help without thinking about the person’s affiliations”, said the General.
The seminar covered many significant facets of Disaster Management in Jammu & Kashmir and analysed its existing efficiency. It brought out the glaring systemic deficiencies in the country like more than 90% shortfall in availability of fire tenders. The speakers gave their insights into various aspects of Disaster Management to further refine the overall preparedness. Special Case study presentations were also organised by the White Knight Corps to highlight the invaluable contribution made by the officers and men of Northern Command during the various Disaster Relief Operations in Jammu & Kashmir.