Tamil Nadu - Nagapattinam   

Study suggests techniques for effective disaster management

Photo: B. Velankanni Raj

mitigation guide: A report on role of panchayat institutions in disaster preparedness and management being released at a media workshop on Saturday. —

NAGAPATTINAM: Gender and social justice, democratised worldview and participation of communities ensure that people are not turning beggars by disaster, overnight. This was observed by a report on the role of panchayati raj institutions in disaster preparedness and management by the Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies of Gandhi Gram Rural University, which was presented at a media workshop here on Saturday.

The pilot study carried out in four panchayats in three districts studied the disaster management preparedness and resilience capacity of the community. K.Pazhanidurai, professor, Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies, said community arrangements could be democratised but not broken.

The four panchayats in Kaatucherri and Vadakupanayur in Nagapattinam, Nanalmedu in Cuddalore and Simon Colony in Kanyakumari, were selected on the basis of transparency, gender and social consciouness and human development. After the reasonable parameters existed as a deductive premise, the study was conducted, said Prof. Pazhanidurai.

The idea for the study was mooted following an earlier grassroots study conducted on resilience of communities after the tsunami. That study on the rescue and resilience front in the first two days after the tsunami, even before the world had access to the tsunami ravaged communities, floated the proposal for this study, said Prof. Pazhanidurai. “It was the affected communities that picked up the bodies and started relief work till they were geographically accessible.” This observation was a result of a study conducted on 17 panchayats in the district.

In 2008, the Chair also studied disaster management efforts in Orissa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.Wherever, community leadership – constitutional and traditional - elected panchayat presidents and panchayatars (fishing community heads) respectively were strong, disaster management was efficient. Even when institutional delivery was lacking, in pro-active communities delivery-system continued to work, he said .

The study would be used to discuss the draft policy on disaster management scheduled for this month-end, said Prof. Pazhanidurai. The Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies of Gandhi Gram Rural University has been engaged in research, advocacy, outreach and capacity building.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Study suggests techniques for effective disaster management

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu