New Delhi, June 16: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the disaster response forces have worked hard over the past 10 years to take the country on the verge of becoming a global leader in crisis management.
Addressing the Relief Commissioners and Disaster Response Forces Conference, HM Shah said, “In the last 10 years, we have achieved a lot in four areas of capacity, speed, efficiency and accuracy.”
“Speed is of essence in any operation related to disaster management. Timely response to a disaster and saving lives is the most important objective for which we have made big strides through training of workforce and introduction of technology and advance warning system for the community,” he said.
“Though the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) works under my ministry, I can confidently say that it has built a strong image, earned recognition, and gained respect across the country,” said HM Shah.
The NDRF has also worked hard to train jawans of the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF), he said.
He praised National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), NDRF and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) for bringing India closer to becoming a global leader in disaster management.
HM Shah said till a decade ago disaster management was limited to offering relief after a calamity, however, over the decade India’s disaster management is moving forward with a ‘Zero Casualty Approach’ which has even surprised the global community.
The Union Minister stressed on research to improve advance warning systems for disaster response and mitigation.
“We have succeeded in redefining our disaster response from reactive to pro-active over the decade,” said HM Shah, adding that ‘Bhagidhari’ has been the foundation of improving the response system.
“Starting from the Central government to State governments and to local bodies, a unified approach has been adopted for disaster response. Now, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi we are even involving the community in the effort,” he said.
HM Shah said in the coming decade each of the youth in the country will be equipped with the capability to join disaster response.
‘Country emerging as global leader’
