At 11 am on 1 December, the newly constituted National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) will have its big "coming out" at Gurgaon's plush DT Mall. |
Fire alarms in one of the mall's auditoriums will signal a simulated fire, to which will respond all of Gurgaon's public utilities, including fire, civil defence, police, and medical services. |
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The simulated accident will also draw in a battalion of the newly raised National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The exercise will be the culmination of several sessions of training. |
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Said KM Singh, member, NDMA, and in-charge of the NDRF, "Gurgaon's an international city, with call-centres and MNC offices. We need to reassure these people over their safety concerns." |
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This will not be the first such exercise conducted by the NDMA. On October 5, a chemical disaster was simulated at the IPCL plant in Ghaziabad. That rehearsal, coordinated with the UP government, was low profile and went unannounced. |
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However, the exercise at DT Mall will be watched by the media, other malls and commercial complexes, and even a batch of Gurgaon's schoolchildren, to educate them on disaster response. |
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The NDMA has been set up under the National Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is chaired by the prime minister and functions under the vice-chairman, former army chief Gen Nirmal Chand Vij. |
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According to Gen Vij, the Gujarat earthquake of January 2001 and the tsunami disaster of December 2004 only triggered the creation of the NDMA. |
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India has long been a victim of cyclical natural disasters like floods and landslides. |
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"So far, India has dealt with disasters mainly at the level of providing relief. The NDMA takes a much more holistic view: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, relief, and rehabilitation are the six important fronts for dealing with disasters," he said. |
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The Act also creates state disaster management authorities (SDMA), headed by chief ministers. District magistrates will head district authorities, with a local body leader as the vice-chairman. So far, the states are playing ball. |
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Said Gen Vij, "Rather than waste large sums of money after a hazard has turned into a disaster, the states are cooperating on preventive measures. I've held meetings with ministers in 21 states and they are more than enthusiastic." |
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The NDRF has eight 1000-man battalions. The Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Central Industrial Security Force have agreed to provide two battalions each, which remain a part of the parent force. |
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The personnel are rotated through disaster management units, serving a five-year tenure after training. Each of these eight battalions has a specialised role, with two each focussing on flood relief, fire, cyclones, and industrial accidents, including nuclear and chemical disasters. |
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Also, private constructions such as malls and residential complexes will have to adhere to disaster regulations that could be finalised by mid-2007. |
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The Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended an initial corpus of Rs 5,000 crore for the NDMA. |
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The cost of disaster-proofing all future public projects such as dams, power plants and flyovers will add an estimated 7 per cent to costs. |
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