Port Blair, Mar 17: The daylong symposium on ‘Tsunami -2004: Memories and Lessons’, concluded with a valedictory function held in conference hall of DBRAIT here this evening. During the daylong symposium, the speakers presented their experiences post Tsunami and made valuable suggestions for inclusion in the future action plan in disaster preparedness for the A&N Islands.
The Chief Secretary, Shri Anindo Majumdar in his concluding address expressed gratitude to all the participants and said, the discussions were very much relevant for future plan of action based on the past experiences in the post tsunami period. He said that all suggestions which have come out as a result of the deliberations in the form of feedbacks, will be very useful for the Administration to prepare the plan of action for strengthening and upgrading the disaster management mechanisms, in the future.
The Chief Secretary gave away mementoes to the invitees speakers during the valedictory function.
Earlier, panel discussions were held in two sessions viz. ‘Post Tsunami Experience & Responses of the Administration’ and ‘Post Tsunami Relief and Rehabilitation’. The first session was presided over by former Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, Shri VV Bhatt. The panel consisted of Shri Punit Goel, Shri Rajiv Shukla, Shri Naresh Kumar, Shri Govind Ram and Shri Utpal Sharma. During the discussion, the Chairman, Shri VV Bhatt, while highlighting his experiences during the relief and rehabilitation period, said that the process was a great success with few shortcomings. He suggested for few actions to be included for disaster preparedness which include enhancement of safety operation in sectors viz. shipping, communication, setting up of doppler weather radar of long range which can cover about 400 km range, marking of channel in Port Blair harbor for easy berthing of ships during night, constructing sluice gate to check flooding of Port Blair Airport and various other steps for safeguarding low flying aircrafts in the Islands. He also paid glowing tributes to the then Lt Governor, Late Prof Ram Kapse for playing a proactive role during the disaster.
The other members of the panel also highlighted their experiences and gave suggestions for future action plan. Shri Govind Ram suggested for initiating new plan of action in disaster management. Shri Rajiv Shukla suggested for improvement in sectors like communication, roads and power which are essential for relief and rehabilitation work. Shri Naresh Kumar stressed the need for identifying the requirements from the affected people, procurement of the relief materials and to ascertain whether the assets can be operated by them. This, he said, will check wastage of certain relief materials such as DG Set etc. Shri Puneet Goel also shared his experience during the relief and rehabilitation process and suggested for strengthening the disaster management mechanism for tackling future calamities. He also suggested that all stakeholders, right from top to bottom, including civil societies, NGOs must extend all possible cooperation during relief work.
In the second session which was presided over by Shri D.S. Negi, former Chief Secretary, A&N Administration, the panelists suggested for tackling situation post disaster such as trauma and psychological issues of the affected people. Shri Negi stated that psychological problems of the affected people should be addressed by involving experts for counseling. He also stressed for focusing on training and communication which are the key sectors that need to be strengthened. Through training, man power can be augmented from among the trained public in dealing with disaster as volunteers while communication will also help disseminate information on the required manpower and materials for the affected areas. The members of the panel including Shri Govind Ram, Shri Puneet Goel, Shri Naresh Kumar also highlighted their experiences during the relief operation and suggested that the affected people need to be consulted as to what activities can be selected as a long term rehabilitation for their livelihood. This, they said, will enable them to take up economic activities viable for them.
Summing up the deliberation, Shri VV Bhatt urged all individual involved in rehabilitation process to learn from the lacunas of the past and upgrade their knowledge based on the suggestions made during the deliberation so as to prepare them to meet any exigencies. “While discharging our duties as relief officers, we must be clear of our decision and take steps accordingly”, he said.
