Daring, dodging disasters

Launching action by the administration to save lives and structures built to meet various needs of the populace invariably follows disasters, both natural and man-made, although some of those happenings are attributed to nature even though human hand is behind them, particularly droughts and floods. To blunt or reduce the intensity of the consequences of disasters, whether they are natural or man-made, the Disaster Management Act was passed by the Nation’s Parliament in 2005, receiving the assent of the President subsequently, calling for the establishment of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). As if to reflect the importance of this apex body, the Prime Minister of India is its Chairman, with the vision to build a safer and disaster resilient India and foster a culture of prevention, preparedness and mitigation of the consequences of disasters. In addition, the National Institute of Disaster Management has been assigned the task of developing practices aimed at rescue work through hands-on training and organising drills for advanced preparedness in addressing the hardship of the victims. The Institute also equips and trains Disaster Management Cells at the State and local levels. Karnataka Government’s State Disaster Management Authority has taken steps to set up such authorities at District-level also.

The top brass in the incumbent Karnataka Government has gone on record saying the previous Government never initiated any measure to strengthen the Authority despite a direction from the State High Court to that effect ten years ago. Revenue Minister of the Government has said that in the event of calamities, the District-level authorities would act swiftly even before the arrival of the National Disaster Response Force teams comprising 200 trained personnel who have been constituted at four (Bengaluru, Hubballi, Coastal Karnataka and Kalyana Karnataka region) places in the State to work under the State’s Authority.

Mercifully, Karnataka region has remained at a respectable distance from locations vulnerable to and experiencing earthquakes. But, tremors caused by detonating subterranean rocks and creating deep quarries in some regions, including areas close to Mysuru district boundary, are resulting in threats to stability of dams and also structures of archaeological value. The issue of many development projects such as widening roads in city limits, increasing lanes of inter-city highways, construction of new airports as well as adding space to existing ones such as in Bengaluru and Mysuru, entailing loss of fertile land needed for raising crops, denudation of life-supporting green cover over large areas have been talked about ad nauseum with no hint of mitigating the occurrence and consequences of disasters.

Media has been rendering yeoman service to the nation through forewarning the people in authority vested with the responsibility of dodging and daring disasters sparing no efforts. Lay public too owe it to themselves in ensuring the functionaries in the Government to avoid laxity in addressing hardship, not resting with the compensation often announced and forgotten thereafter.