The Hindu 01.10.2010
Disaster management plan for Tiruchi in three months
S.Ganesan
| Urban risk reduction programme funded by UNDP, Centre |
chalking out:Collector T. Soundiah speaking at the training of community representatives of NGOs on CBRM and preparation of CBDM plans in Tiruchi on Thursday.
TIRUCHI: A disaster management plan for Tiruchi City would be prepared within the next three months under the Urban Risk Reduction Programme (URRP), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Union government.
The plan would lay down the standard operating procedure for emergency response, draw up an action plan for handling disasters and suggest ways to minimise losses in terms of lives, property and environment. Disasters of all kinds, including earthquakes, floods, fires and even epidemics, would be covered under the programme.
A hazard risk vulnerability assessment would also be prepared within the next three months under the programme to identify vulnerable and disaster prone areas, D.Babu Deva Irakkam, Project Officer, URRP, told The Hindu here on Thursday on the sidelines of a training organised for NGOs under the programme.
Inputs from all stakeholders including all government line departments, elected representatives of voluntary organisations and even architects would go into the plan and they would also be involved in the implementation of the URRP, Mr.Deva Irakkam said.
The URRP is a three-year programme, commencing 2010, sanctioned for Tiruchi and Madurai cities. At the district level, disaster risk reduction programmes have been taken up in Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam and the Nilgiris district, he said.
For Tiruchi city, Rs.10 lakhs has been sanctioned for capacity building and training in the first six months of the programme. The programme aims at institutional strengthening, capacity building, awareness creation and mainstreaming of the URRP into development initiatives.
Disaster management authorities have been formed at the national and state level. District level disaster management authorities are also on the anvil, he said.
On Thursday, representatives from about 30 leading NGOs were given training on preparation of community based risk management and community based disaster management plans for their respective areas of operation. The focus of the training and the role of the NGOs would be on pre-disaster rather than post-disaster activities, Mr.Deva Irakkam said.
Collector T.Soundiah, who inaugurated the training, emphasised the need for capacity building for effective handling of disasters. He suggested that self help groups be involved in pre and post disaster management activities.
Corporation Commissioner T.T.Balsamy, V.Natarajan, Implementing Officer, URRP, and others spoke.
