The Pioneer 20.11.2010
MCD cares two hoots for disaster drills
November 20, 2010 1:50:27 PM
Parvaiz Sultan | Purusharth Aradhak
New Delhi
More evidence of MCD’s brazenness and its lack of respect towards Government norms has come to the fore. According to information available with The Pioneer, the civic body did not participate in even one of the over 60 disaster management mock drills organised by the Delhi Government. The L-G’s office was duly informed of the MCD’s absence at these events and a memo issued to the civic body.
Experts feel that had the MCD bothered to participate in these drills, precious lives could have been saved in the aftermath of the Lalita Park house collapse. The corporation’s disaster management team took over two hours to reach the spot while the standard reaction time is 20-25 minutes.
Even Raj Niwas did not take cognisance and never was the MCD asked to explain its failure to attend these drills, sources said. Such drills are routinely conducted for assessing the preparedness and alertness of the organisations concerned in an emergency situation. Under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, it is obligatory for the civic bodies to participate in such drills.
Delhi Government sources said, “The MCD’s attendance at the mock drills has been poor though participation is mandatory. If any agency does not come, we issue memos and send a report to the Lt Governor.”
The MCD’s role crucial since it is responsible for debris removal, cleanliness and sanitation near accident sites. The 25-minute reaction window is considered good and a reaction time of about an hour is considered disastrous, sources said, pointing out that the MCD took two hours to reach the Lalita Park collapse site. Mercifully, the locals managed to bring out 65 persons alive from under the rubble.
East Delhi Deputy Commissioner SS Ghonkrokta said the agency was bound by the DM Act to participate in each drill organised by him. However, he refused to divulge MCD’s attendance details. Under the Act, Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) is ‘Incident Commander’ at a disaster site.
On the other hand, MCD claimed that its role was limited to debris removal and ensuring road cleanliness and sanitation; therefore it attends limited drills. “In Lalita Park, the response time was more due to its location and narrow lanes around it. Where 2,000 rescuers should have been roped in, only 200 could be used owing to the tight space,” MCD’s public relations director Deep Chand Mathur said.
Mathur blamed the mess on the absence of proper management system. “There is lack of coordination among the agencies. Confusion exists over who will take the lead,” he said.
