The Hindu : New Delhi News : Coordination among Govt.-NGOs sought

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 23, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Coordination among Govt.-NGOs sought

Staff Reporter

Formulation of a more effective strategy for disaster management in the country

NEW DELHI: Experts working in the field of disaster management on Tuesday underlined the need for more active coordination among the Government, non-government organisations and health and educational institutions so that a more effective strategy could be formulated to meet any emergency situation.

They pointed out that this was imperative as Delhi lies in Zone IV of the seismic map of India, making it highly vulnerable to earthquakes. Besides, the Capital is also exposed to various kinds of disasters including fire incidents, chemical disasters, excessive rainfall, wind and dust storms, said the experts participating in a workshop on "The role of NGOs in disaster management".

The workshop, organised by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority at Delhi Secretariat, was inaugurated by the Delhi Government's Principal Secretary (Home) O. P. Kelkar. It was attended by over 200 representatives from various local, national and international NGOs.

The workshop was organised in view of the dangers posed by such disasters to the people and the critical role NGOs can play in pre and post-disaster scenarios.

According to Divisional Commissioner Narendra Kumar, NGOs need to bring out their years of experience of working with communities into disaster preparedness, awareness generation and planning.

They can also contribute towards training and capacity building of communities in various aspects of disaster management.

Mr. Narendra Kumar also urged the corporate sector and other community-based organisations to partner and contribute for the cause so that such a joint effort percolates down to each individual of the society and every individual can feel safe and remain prepared to meet any emergency situation.

Various initiatives

The workshop also discussed various initiatives undertaken so far by the department.

This was followed by interactive sessions where participants shared their experiences, best practices and gave suggestions. A roadmap for the future was also drawn out based on the experience of the workshop.

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