KOHIMA, JULY 7: The chief minister of Nagaland has asked the elected members of Nagaland Legislative Assembly to set up a ‘Legislature Forum on Disaster’ to ‘help create awareness.’ Chief Minister TR Zeliang said on Thursday said this on the note that the forum would be able to ‘promote people’s action to ensure that natural hazards do not become disasters.’
Zeliang was addressing a host of legislators, government officials and stakeholders during the inaugural function of a two-day workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction in the context of climate change in Kohima town on July 7.
The event was organized by the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with Sustainable Development Forum Nagaland (SDFN), Integrated Mountain Initiative and North East Centre for Technology Application & Research (NECTAR).
“It should be our endeavour to create a culture of prevention as against a culture of reaction and our approach should be guided by our basic belief that can mitigate the impact and bring people together,” Zeliang said.
“Climate change is greatly contributing to disasters in recent years and there is a need to closely link our DRD plans and our climate change adaptation strategies,” the chief minister said and further suggested that DRD should also become part of our sustainable development plans, incorporating how to make better choices relating to many livelihood issues. He added that unsound development policies and plans would invariably result in increased
disaster risk and disaster losses.
The chief minister also lauded the community participation and response at the recent cyclonic storms that affected a substantial number of districts in the State, while he went on to say that State government had also initiated several steps to strengthen the State’s disaster preparedness.
Delivering the key note address Member of Parliament (LokSabha) from Sikkim, P.D. Rai stressed the need of community, capacity collaboration and capital to deal with any types of disaster incidents. Stating that political will is important to effectively take up the the issue of disaster, he urged the elected representatives to take DRR with seriousness and further to take the initiative to the grassroots. The MP also stated the need to set up community based disasters management agencies.
An advisor to the SDFN and former Nagaland chief secretary AlemtemshiJamir IAS (Retd), while stating that disaster and calamity is uncertain and happens to anyone irrespective of status, urged everyone concerned to respond by staying prepared.
“The home department alone should not respond to disaster incidents, but every department should involve in times of emergency with basic knowledge to deal it,” Jamir said.
The director general of NECTAR, Sanjiv Nair, highlighted issues concerning disaster-management in India, besides the works of NECTAR.
