The monsoon disaster caused extensive damage. In this situation, the Disaster Management Department is working to strengthen the system to better mitigate the impact of future disasters, in addition to ongoing reconstruction efforts. The department will submit a Rs. 500 crore project proposal to the World Bank, which includes plans for establishing control rooms at the tehsil (sub-district) level and implementing several other initiatives.
This year’s natural disaster caused significant damage. 136 people died and 149 were injured. Over 6,000 houses were damaged, and there was considerable damage to public property. Now, the Disaster Management Department has decided to increase resources to better manage the impact of heavy rainfall. A proposal will be submitted under the World Bank’s U-PREPARE program.
Plans to increase resources
The Disaster Management Department is already implementing a World Bank-funded U-PREPARE project worth over Rs. 1480 crore. The project has a five-year timeframe. The department plans to submit a separate Rs. 500 crore project proposal under the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) of the U-PREPARE program through the central government. This was discussed in a recent meeting at the state government level, and the project is currently being finalized. Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman says that the plan includes strengthening existing district-level control rooms, establishing control rooms at the tehsil level, purchasing rescue vehicles, building disaster shelters, and constructing prefabricated schools.
Response time for disaster management
Response time is crucial in disaster situations. Disaster management officials say they are focusing on this. Previously, the response time for an incident was 22 minutes, which has now been reduced to approximately 12 minutes. Efforts are underway to further reduce this time.
