MH Vatavaran, The Environment Society of Miranda House presented a virtual talk on the topic “Community Involvement in Disaster Management” on 19th April, 2021. The event, which was joined by a considerable number of attendees, was hosted by the President of MH Vatavaran, Sanjwala Mukund. The guest speaker for the session was Mr. Sanjeeva Kumar , IAS , Secretary, Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Member Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The event began with the welcome speech by Dr. Amrita Tripathi Sheikh, Convener of MH Vatavaran who welcomed the speaker as well as the attendees of the session on behalf of the college and the Acting Principal, Bijyalaxmi Nanda.
The speaker, Mr. Sanjeeva Kumar began the talk by presenting well- prepared and informative PowerPoint presentation on the topic “Reducing Disaster Risk : A Whole of the Society Approach”. He intricately discussed a wide array of essential aspects of Disaster Management stretching from definition of disaster, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Disaster Management Cycle to Hazard Vulnerability and Hazard Profile of India. In order to substantiate on each topic he exhibited ample numerical data through graphs and charts to make enlighten students and attendees as to the criticality of natural as well as man-made disasters in India and the World. He also explained the nuances and levels of Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) which is
(a) Prevention
(b) Prompt Response at the time of disaster
(c) Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitation after the disaster ends.
To make it more clear, he discussed the example of Bhuj earthquake of Gujarat.
Mr. Kumar presented a formula to understand the complexities of Disaster and Vulnerability which is Disaster = (Hazard * Vulnerability * Exposure)/ Capacity. With the help of maps, he also presented the data in terms of disaster risks in India, i.e., floods, earthquakes, droughts etc. The last point covered in Disaster impacts was Chemical, Industrial, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear disasters.
In the second half of the talk session, Mr. Kumar then focused upon discussing the ways through which society can get to grips with Disaster preparedness and tackle disaster situations collectively. In this regard, he presented the approach as per Sendei Framework and National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) which involved some key steps such as involvement of all stakeholders including women, children, SC/ST, elderly, people with disability on national as well as state level. Mr. Kumar also underlined the best practices to be kept to by Community and Panchayat for Disaster Management. He shared with the attendees a very inspiring and stimulating example of “Success in Water Budgeting and Drought Management” by people of Hiware Bazar under the superintendence of their Sarpanch Popat Roy Pawar.
Mr. Kumar brought before all a very crucial yet nonchalant aspect of disaster management which he considers to be of a fundamental nature i.e. school safety or making the young students aware regarding the nuances of disaster preparedness, motivated from the disaster management discourse of Japan where the students at the elementary level itself are taught the nitty – gritty of disaster preparedness. He cited the National School Safety Programme which is still at its nascent stage but reflecting upon successful outcomes.
A very significant section of the talk session focused upon drilling deep into the understanding of roles and responsibilities to be carried out by various units.
National Level Agencies such as NDMA, NDRF and NIDM : Organizing national level forces for search, rescue capacity building etc.
Nodal Ministries and Department formulated in states/UTs : For dealing with various types of disasters in an organised manner
State and District Level Agencies : SDMA, SDRF and DDMA : Planning and implementing the disaster management and relief policies at the state and district level
Local Authorities : Forming collectives at local level to manage disasters
Community based DRR : Gaining knowledge on policies related to disaster preparedness and actively participating in all.
Private Sector : Coordinating with government in implementing the policies and schemes
NGOs : To act as a bridge between government and community
Trained Volunteers : Providing in manpower for search, rescue and rehabilitation
Media : Responsibly work to promote awareness and share the required information upon disasters and rehab processes
Academic Institutions : Carrying out research, analysis and studies to come up with improvised, effective and efficient disaster preparedness programs
The Role of Students : Can establish DRR clubs in school/colleges to disperse information on such matters.
With the above very efficient and effective steps to mitigate the wrath of disasters, Mr. Kumar brought his presentation to an end, followed by a Q/A round moderated by Komal, the General Secretary of MH Vatavaran. The talk session ended with a vote of thanks delivered by the Join Secretary of MH Vatavaran, Ishika Bansal.
The talk session was highly informative and enriched the attendees with information on disaster preparedness and its effective measures. Mr. Kumar also complimented MH Vatavaran for organizing a session on a topic which is the need of the hour.
Report by Harsha, B.A(H) Sociology
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