Status of disaster management continues to be disastrous

NASHIK: Two things that took place during this week indicated at the awful preparedness of the government agencies in tackling disasters: thunderstorms for two consecutive days on Tuesday and Wednesday; and the pre-publicised mock exercise to test the Incidence Response System on Friday.
The first day of the storm created havoc that included uprooting of trees, snapping of power lines and water logging in various parts.It resulted in scores of vehicles getting crushed and roads getting blocked by fallen trees, besides plunging several parts of the city into darkness. Water-logging in some parts of the city exposed the inertia of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), which is yet to initiate pre-monsoon work. All agencies continued to work in isolation at snail's pace.
The chaos of Tuesday prompted district collector Vilas Patil to admit the failure of the departments concerned in handling the situation. In his introductory remarks on Wednesday, the first day of the three-day workshop organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Patil admitted that the agencies concerned were far from prepared to tackle disasters even of a smaller magnitude - natural or man-made.
The lacunas pointed out by him included lack of coordination despite modern means of communication. He also regretted that no agency had bothered to contact him on the issue.
Ironically, there was another spell of heavy showers on Wednesday and the situation failed to improve, with trees and branches blocking some roads and citizens waiting for power to return to normalcy. In the meantime, the three-day workshop of NDMA continued as scheduled and culminated in a "mock exercise" at the Godavari on Friday. The exercise was not a "drill" in the sense that it was announced well in advance and was not like a fire drill which is conducted unannounced.
The display of disaster management skills of the agencies concerned in tackling incidents like terror attack, bomb detection and rescuing drowning persons revealed the obvious. A proper unannounced mock drill is now scheduled in July.
The storm ,as well as the mock exercise in handling disasters, has come at a time when Nashik is preparing for the next Kumbh, besides the onset of monsoon. While the coming Kumbh will be conducted under the shadow of the stampede that had claimed 29 lives during the last Kumbh in 2003 and a stampede that claimed 36 lives in the Allahabad Kumbh in 2013, the monsoon may trigger a natural calamity.
Moreover, the latest "disaster mapping" done in all 15 talukas of the district has revealed that Nashik, Niphad and Malegaon are vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters. The mapping parameters include rivers, industries, dams and crowded religious spots.
On the other hand, the district administration, of which Patil is the head, has outsourced disaster management and the post of disaster management officer (DMO) has been vacant for the past 14 months. The district administration had decided to outsource the job three years ago and appointed DMOs on contract basis. The last DMO's term expired on March 31 last year and the responsibility rests with the collector. The district administration has initiated the process of appointing a new DMO for 11 months.
Incidentally, after the stampede in previous Kumbh, the V Ramani commission of inquiry had indicted officials for failing to prevent it. Ramani's recommendations included appointment of a 'Kumbh Administrator' of the rank of Additional Chief Secretary or Additional Director- General of police; widening of the Shahi Marg (the 3 km route taken by ascetics from Tapovan to Ramkund for holy dip); extension of bathing ghats to ease congestion; use of CCTVs; and joint patrolling by officials of district collectorate and police department. The extension of bathing ghats has been planned, but the district administration has declared that widening of the Shahi Marg is not possible.