Disaster management plan drawn up

GUWAHATI, February 10: A public meeting held at the Rabindra Bhawan here this morning to discuss the mitigation measures on the event of a major earthquake called upon the people not to panic and extend all sorts of help to the administration in matters of disaster management. Addressing the meeting, State Revenue Commissioner-cum-Relief Commissioner Chandra Kanta Das said that the State Government has drawn up a plan for disaster management and already Deputy Commissioners and Sub-divisional Officers have been instructed to interact with the people, to form disaster management committees and to get prepared with comprehensive plans and arrangements to meet the eventualities in case a major earthquake hits the State. But above all, Das said what is important is the fact that the people should be kept in readiness and every locality should have the preparedness to withstand the emergent situation following the devastation wracked by an earthquake. To keep the morale of the people high an effective co-ordination among the Government agencies under such situations is also equally important he said. Addressing the meeting, Deputy Commissioner Kamrup, D N Saikia presented an earthquake disaster management plan, prepared by the Kamrup district administration before the jam-packed Rabindra Bhawan gathering. The district administration has already formed a district-level and two sub-divisional-level disaster management committees with heads of administration, police, civic bodies, Civil Defence, Home Guards, Fire Services, oil companies, representatives of NGOs, Doordarshan, AIR, ASTC, FCI, Army and educational institutions, among others. In addition to this a Central task force, a city-level disaster management committee for Guwahati and a zonal core committee for the city have also been formed, besides circle-level disaster management committees for the District's circles, he said. The Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup will be the district relief co-ordinator for the purpose, he said, adding, the Guwahati Circuit House will be the disaster relief co-ordination/control centre (Phone - 540356 and 543800), while the Kamrup DC's office will act as the pre-disaster control room (Room No. 26, Phone-521350). For rescue operations, the Army, the Air Force, the CRPF and the BSF will provide personnel with equipment, besides the help to be rendered by City Police, Fire Service, IOC, OIL Refinery etc, he said. He also apprised that the GMDA and GMC have been requested to earmark the vulnerable buildings for taking precautionary measures. Besides, authorities like the Railways, GMC and police, have also been alerted to restore communication, dispose corpses and carcasses and repair and demolition works and maintenance of law and order, among others, he said. Already, 57 magistrates have been entrusted with jobs in connection with earthquake disaster management plan in the district and in the city, and five magistrates with similar jobs in Rangiya sub-division, Saikia apprised, and called for suggestions to improve the disaster management plan. The meeting was addressed, among others, by Professor Utpal Miri of Assam Engineering College, UC Kalita, head of the Department of Civil Engineering, Guwahati IIT, MM Saikia, ex-Deputy Director of Jorhat RRL, DN Burhagohain, Director, Guwahati IIT, Renuka Devi Barkataky, secretary of State Red Cross, and Prabin Sarma, Chief Administrator of GMC.