Let's not be caught napping
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: September 22 2011 -

The vulnerability of the north eastern region, lying as it is in seismic zone, was exposed with alarming consequences when a powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale rocked Sikkim and neighbouring areas last Sunday (September 17).

The tremors of this powerful quake was felt even in areas like Manipur, Bangladesh and Delhi which are some distance away from Sikkim, while the overall death toll as per the latest report till the writing of this edit piece is said to have crossed 121 and some 120 are still missing.

The death and destruction which the quake brought about in its wake has left many people completely devastated and it will take quite some time for the people who faced nature's fury to come to terms with the loss of near and dear ones and the shock and trauma of it all.

The rescue and evacuation operation is still on.

How soon the situation comes back to what can be called normal will depend on how the rehabilitation and reconstruction work pans out. All kinds of public amenities in the affected area would have been totally destroyed by now. Restoring these will certainly be a challenge for Sikkim government in particular.

There has been Tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and many more natural disasters, but the Sikkim quake being the most immediate to us as far as physical proximity goes, should serve as a wake up call for all of us here in Manipur.

How prepared are we to face a natural disaster of this scale? By the look of things, not quite. On paper, this country has a very well laid out policy on disaster management.

There are many aspects to this policy but let us take just one of them to examine how serious is the state government about disaster management. As per the National Disaster Management Act 2005, it is mandatory for the states to establish a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

But with the rider that this force must be raised with the concerned states available resources, but the state government rose to the occasion and constituted the SDRF by 're-deploying' 520 of the 545 personnel of the state Excise department.

A shrewd move, on the face of it, a proverbial 'killing two birds with a stone' scenario but a closer look reveals otherwise. The government reasoning being since there is prohibition in force in the state, the excise department has very little work.

But everyone knows how effectively prohibition is being enforced. On the other hand, most of the personnel who have been redeployed are nearing retirement age and their effectiveness in a force like the Disaster Response Force which requires physical strength, mental alertness, is anybody's guess.

Needless to say, the state government has to come up with a better alternative, because the SDRF personnel are expected to be the first one on whom the responsibility of rescue and evacuation of any natural or man-made disaster will fall.

Besides the SDFR, all the forces available at the disposal of the state should be imparted basic training in disaster management. Students’ community, the NCC, voluntary organizations, local clubs, young people in all walks of life can also be co opted in this exercise of being prepared.

The hospitals and its staff in the state should be prepared to deal with large number of casualties at the same time. Coordination between various agencies and organizations should be fine tuned by holding mock drills etc.

Awareness programs for the community can be conducted in association with appropriate NGOs and civil organizations to better prepare the people in case of a disaster.

All necessary steps should be taken to ensure that we are not caught napping when any disaster strikes the state.