The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Orissa has a better disaster management mechanism: survey

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Friday, Dec 28, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Orissa has a better disaster management mechanism: survey

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Orissa appears to have evolved a better grassroots-centric disaster management mechanism to tackle emergencies, according to a survey. The survey involved Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, besides Orissa.

The survey led by the Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies, Gandhigram Rural University, found that Orissa had learnt from its bitter experiences with floods to strengthen its panchayati raj institutions and sensitise voluntary workers to deal with calamities.

The survey found that Andhra Pradesh which grappled with the ravages of cyclones every year had not bolstered local institutions the way it had its Government institutions, while Gujarat that has gone through devastating earthquakes had a problem translating the benefits of setting up a Disaster Management Authority at the grassroots level.

In Tamil Nadu, the research programme used the tsunami as a reference point to gauge the level of emergency preparedness and concluded that the State lacked a clear policy on involving local institutions in emergency management. Until the tsunami struck in 2004, the administration had been alternating between drought and flood relief packages.

The objective of the nine-month-long research programme supported by Action Aid India was to define the role of panchayats in disaster preparedness and management in these States, said G. Palanithurai, who heads the Rajiv Gandhi Chair under the Department of Political Science and Development Administration in Gandhigram.

The report’s key findings and recommendations such as the establishment of a Disaster Management Authority, formulation of policy and a relief code for relief agencies has been tabled for discussion at a two-day national workshop that began here on Thursday.

The stakeholders attending the workshop include panchayat presidents, NGO workers, representatives of youth groups, researchers and academicians.

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