NEED FOR IMROVEMENT IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN INDIA BASED ON LESSONS LEARNT FROM FLOODS IN UTTARAKHAND AND J & K

IRJMSH Vol 5 Issue 10 [Year 2014] ISSN 2277 – 9809 (0nline) 2348–9359 (Print)

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 119

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NEED FOR IMROVEMENT IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN

INDIA BASED ON LESSONS LEARNT FROM FLOODS IN UTTARAKHAND

AND J & K

J.Bhattacharjee Professor & Advisor in Civil Engineering,

Amity University, Noida, former CE/ Jt. DG (MOD),

SYNOPSIS

The paper deals with the present state of natural disaster mitigation & management in

India, & the proposed strategy to be followed for reducing impact of natural Disaster,

based on experience gained in recent past floods.. In last more than twenty years; India

has experienced heavy floods, cyclones, landslides & earthquakes almost every year.

Death, destruction & loss because of natural & manmade disasters are becoming more

rather than less frequent. In the recent floods in both Uttarakhand & J & K, it has also

been experienced that the country is not adequately prepared to deal with consequences

of these disasters. The experience suggests that there is an urgent need for a proper more

effective disaster management strategy that is focused, well co-coordinated & prepared

for all obvious eventualities so that its impact is reduced. The paper deliberated on all

these issues & has finally recommended various comprehensive measures to be taken.

The major reasons leading to failures of large number of structures and human life and

properties have been analyzed, their remedial measures discussed, & deliberated to take

preventive measures for reduction of its impact in future.

INTRODUCTION

Disaster of all types e.g., earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought, cloudbursts, accidents etc. have

been occurring since time immemorial. However, their frequency, magnitude & area have

increased many times in all parts of world, in recent times. Disasters are extreme events & claim

a large proportion of human live & cause huge damage to property throughout the world. They

may be broadly classified as natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, droughts & cyclones,

manmade disasters such as riots, conflicts, refugee situations & environmental disasters, like fire,

epidemics, industrial accidents & environmental fallouts. Often difference between them is

marginal. Natural disasters can be perceived as an “extreme natural event”, which, may affect

different places singly or in combination (Coast line, hillsides earthquakes prone areas, etc.) at



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different times (Season of the year, over varying return period, of different duration, etc.). The

hazard has varying degrees of intensity & severity. Any natural hazards become disasters, when

they come in contact with vulnerable social setting of human population. Human settlements,

structure & centres of economic activity increase the damages caused by disasters. Globally,

natural disasters account for nearly 80% of all disaster affected people.

EXIISTING POLICY FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Basic Ingredients of Management Strategy

In India, though the responsibility for undertaking rescue and relief measures in the event of

Natural Calamities is that of State Government concerned; the Central Govt. associates itself

with measures & supplements the State‟s relief efforts by initiating supportive action. Towards

this end, the Central Govt., with its resources, both physical & financial provides the needed help

& assistance, with the existing policy of financing the relief expenditure, keeping in view the

factors like the gravity of a natural calamity, the scale of relief operation necessary and the

requirements for augmenting the financial resources of the state. Disaster Management in the

Country is essentially rested inter alias, on four major pillars viz: -

(a) Application of Scientific input to forecasting & relief programmes.

(b) Timeliness & dynamism of management of relief delivery.

(c) Peoples participation in relief delivery & monitoring.

(d) Contribution of resilience of societies & areas and quality of life.

Despite the recognition of the need to build up a society‟s capabilities to meet the challenges of

disasters, the thrust of relief efforts was, for a variety of reasons, generally remained

concentrated on the alleviation & restoration aspects. On the occurrence of disasters, the need for

continued vigil, preparedness & conscious efforts to reduce the occurrence and impact of

disasters is generally articulated, only to be buried subsequently, in the sub-conscious state of the

Nation. A well-formulated disaster management cycle normally comprises six different

components i.e. Disaster preparation, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery &

development. The preventive measures include all those tasks that can be undertaken to prevent

natural hazards from turning into a disaster. It is clear that not much can be done to prevent

occurrence of natural hazards such as earthquake, cyclones, floods & avalanches etc., but efforts

can be made to prevent their calamitous fall out. Some preventive measures come under the

category of national development & some within specific disaster management programmes. In

India, some-how we have failed to do much on this. There-by Earthquake of similar intensity as

in Gujarat, when stuck in California, USA; there was almost no loss of life, whereas our death

toll exceeded 20,000.



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FLOODS IN UTTARAKHAND & J & K AND LESSONS LEARNT Uttarakhand Floods

Uttarakhand, the hill state of Northern India was severely hit by flash floods and landslides on

16th

and 17th

June, 2013, resulting into huge loss of life and properties. These were not only a

natural calamity but to a great extent, a manmade disaster too. We could have saved several

thousand lives and properties but for the mistake we made on following areas.

Poor road, building, illegal constructions and intensive development of Hydro-power have worsened the situation. Alteration of the river course only magnified the disaster.

Rampant constructions of houses and hotels on river fronts.

Traffic in the hills has grown like a virus, with the number of vehicles registered in the hills growing up sharply. We have to remember that the hills are unstable, so it takes little to set off landslides.

J & K Floods

In J & K, the furiously gushing flood waters in the urban localities & rural areas have wrecked

havoc on Sept 2014 and lead to the widespread loss of life and damage to the property. The

deluge and consequential human tragedy is unprecedented. The tragedy, which reduced the entire

valley to a sea, taking hundreds of lives, submerging lakhs of homes, throwing families and lived

ones asunder, and destroying public property worth thousands of crores. Initial rough calculation

of losses of property and infrastructure were estimated to be of the tune of Rs. 5,700 crores. As

the flood waters receded, more realistic estimate of losses, which is much higher than the one

prepared in the heat of the moment. Devastation is so huge that it may take several years to

rebuild the state completely.

We as Indians have faced several such calamities. What we can learn from such mistakes in

future is brought out below:-

Proper Planning before Execution: The Government and authorities must exercise a regulation on the construction activities and must ensure compliance proper planning, before undertaking any construction works. Further, in Uttarakhand, number of pilgrims. Batch-wise registration and better planning, similar to Amernath yatra could have helped in both reducing the number of causalities as well as locating survivors.

Lack in Co-operation among local peoples: The Co-operation among local peoples was lacking in both the cases. The victims of Mumbai floods stood together and helped each other. People nearby opened their homes for complete strangers. On the contrary, dacoits in the Himalayas sold water and food for unreasonably high prices. If the tourists had come together and refused to pay such prices, the exploitation could have been avoided.

Education & Empowerment of Locals: The Government must encourage every household to have an emergency kit. The local authorities should conduct mock drills.



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These mock-drills empower locals to respond and save lives in the time it takes for relief and rescue to reach them. These drills are also life-savers in the events of other emergencies such as fire. In the long term, locals can be trained in disaster relief and employed.

Action by Individuals: Individual effort was very much lacking in both the cases. Many lives in Mumbai were saved, because citizens set out to look for those in the need of help. The victims themselves did not wait for relief or aid; they went out looking for it. The pilgrim’s survivors blamed the Govt. for making them walk several kilometres. We must realise that the Armed forces did their best in every such occasions.

Prevention of Epidemic: Some measures were taken, but this was not enough in both the cases. In the immediate aftermath of 2006 floods in Surat, Gujarat, distribution of disease preventive masks, gloves and medicines was done at war footing. The disposal of the flood rotten wastes and restoring cleanliness should remain top priorities of civic authorities.

Upgradation of Technology: Effective warning systems could have saved thousands of lives, especially downstream in Uttarakhand by giving few extra moments for the people to respond and in J & K people could have moved to some safer places. The State machinery dependant completely on mobile communication, whereas alternatives such as satellite communication should have been kept available in the event of such disasters.

Utilisation of Police forces effectively: The local police can act as an immediate agent of the Govt. armed with know-how of the local terrain and language, the police can help assist, organise and direct aid. They can also save trouble for survivors by regulating prices and preventing theft.

Respect for the Dead: It is observed that the belongings of dead are often stolen; and not just stolen or detached from the body, on rare occasions the bodies are also mutilated. This makes it impossible to identify the dead, when the bodies are disfigured by decay. From the southern Tsunami, or the Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat to the floods in Bihar and North-East, these crimes have occurred repeatedly, which needs to be curved.

Staying prepared: This rule applied to every one- Locals, Authorities, NGOs, Rescue teams, and even the Armed forces. The objectives of the preparation are clear from the above facts.

Lessons from Uttarakhand & others: In the immediate moments after the incident, revival of vital transport network to aid rescue, relief and later reconstruction at the earliest is necessary. In the reconstruction of roads and buildings, we must avoid the old mistakes. As a Nation, we must learn from the mistakes identified and apply the lessons to effected state itself and other states and cities for capacity building.

.LESSONS LEARNT

The J & K and Uttarakhand floods have some common characteristics that the state

administrations need to study to better prepare for a future crisis. The rescue and relief operations

in the flood affected regions of Jammu and Kashmir reminds that the Nation yet again of the



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absence of strategic wisdom and strategy in the prevention, mitigation and coping strategy for

dealing with the disasters. But more importantly, the narrative reinforces the nation‟s belief in

the military, as the savoir of its people irrespective of the adversary be it the physical enemy or

weather. There are several common problems in both the cases. The rain in both was of

unprecedented ferocity; unabated fury persisted over a prolonged period. In both, neither the

local authorities, nor the affected population, had any clue or inkling whatsoever of heavy

rainfall, which was likely to occur. They neither knew what may be required of them mentally,

logistically or the where-withal that may be needed by them or by the society, to face the arising

situation. “It is not my responsibility, but that of somebody else” seems to have dominated the

mindset. The issue of ownership of dealing with the crises remained obfuscated, and

responsibility, outsourced. In both, the vagaries of climate and terrain severely impacted and

delayed rescue and relief efforts.

There are however some differences. J & K rains, occurred over one year after Uttarakhand and

that makes adequate time available between the two, to enable lessons to be learnt for better

prevention or mitigation, particularly in our Himalayan states. Since the lessons were not learnt,

citizens have paid a huge price and relief and rescue operations continued for a very long time.

Unlike Uttarakhand, where the grid had to be established for relief and rescue, the security grid

and mosaic in the case exist and this grid for security could be leveraged for safety as the two are

synonymous. Building last mile connectivity to the people distress was the first priority in

Uttarakhand and amongst the most critical „must do task‟ which was completed in 72 hours

notwithstanding the ordeal, however rescue operations in J & K had to be prolonged for a long

time. Relief operations of such a magnitude which is a multi-agency process normally get

coordinated through committees at strategic level; require effective leadership at the executive

level of the State, with a clear and concise concept of operations. The concept defines a holistic,

systems approach and drives all stake holders through empowerment with a common vision and

mission towards the established goals and objectives of relief and rehabilitation which have to be

reinforcing and complementing. It enables planners to position resources and logistics for the

smooth flow for the next phase of operations, for its timely execution. In the current situation,

the first as well as the second responders have been hit. The responders, i.e. district and the State

Administration are themselves, engaged in self recovery and it goes to the credit of the security

forces that they were managing a diffused, confused, complex and ambiguous situation most

boldly, amidst a very high level of anxiety with no certainty of what lies in future. Such

situations ordinarily demand a set of planners to do their work dexterously behind the scene to

shape the future for a better cohesive and coordinated response to the evolving situations.

At functional level, absence of functional NDMA structure appears to have worsened the

situation but the aspect of seamless coordination between the Central and State government were



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being managed well by institutionalized bodies such as crisis Management Committee. The issue

left is them of implementation at functional level i.e. executive level of state, which needed

coordination, cooperation and communication through unit of command for producing desired

effects instead of fragmented approach. This was missing in Uttarakhand and so is the case in J

& K. While responsibility may be outsourced, but accountability cannot and for it, we need

functional structures at multiple levels to coordinate, society‟s response to the crisis. It is also the

view, drawn from experience that „relief‟ in calamity goes beyond mere physical and material

support. There are the dimensions of psychological and administrative support which need to be

addressed. A responder‟s role does not cease with „saving lives‟. The response agency, as the

Armed Forces in Uttarakhand for a long time, was the only ones to whom; the affected

population looked up as saviours‟ at a time of severe mental trauma. Their presence also ensured

social order being maintained and notwithstanding their administrative authorization, they

effectively represented the State and in the absence of any „legitimate‟ authority, maintained law

and order. After they left, the administration tried to get back but it succeeded at great cost and

pain. This is more applicable in the context of J & K where the weather window is also closing

shortly on account of approaching winter and our countrymen though delayed last mile

connectivity, may be left without much of an option for reconstructing their lives. Responsibility

should be entrusted to those who can really do it and do it, urgently.

.

Since the start of the floods there have been numerous complaints against the Weather

Department to issue early warnings of the impending deluge so that the people could move to

safer places. It is a fact that the civil administration of the state of J & K collapsed as the flood

water rushed into Srinagar and elsewhere in the state. It is really sad and tragic. It was pleaded

in defence that the offices of the government and families of the employees themselves got

caught in the gushing waters and there was no way they could attend to their duties. The Prime

Minister rushed to the state for an on the spot assessment of the situation ground. He was

appalled by the misery and devastation that floods had led to. He hastened to sanction a sum of

Rs.1,000 crores for flood relief immediately. Many social, religious and philanthropic

organizations from all over the country and abroad joined the effort to reach help and succour to

their marooned fellow countrymen. The brave men and women of the armed forces (All the 3

wings of the armed forces-Army, Navy, Air force and the men of the sister organization of the

Border Roads Organization) and the men of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) were

rushed to J & K for rescue and relief operations. They did a splendid job risking their own lives

and unmindful of the fact that their own camps had been inundated and their families were in

distress. Relief measures are an important aspect of rescue operations. The men of the armed

forces have spared no effort to ensure that food and medicines reached the needy in time. There

were several gaps in the conduct of rescue and relief operations that were undertaken. Lessons

need to be learnt. As the situation returns to normal, lessons learnt from the disaster must be

studiously compiled and all necessary action taken to streamline rescue and relief ops so that



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timely help becomes available to the last man trapped and the losses are reduced to the

minimum. Senseless deforestation, reckless encroachment spree and environmental destruction

are said to be the main reasons behind this unprecedented natural calamity. This aspect needs to

be studied in all its ramifications and remedial action taken without any further delay or

procrastination. Man should not become his own worst enemy.

MAJOR CAUSES OF FAILURES

Based upon the study of Floods in Uttarakhand & J & K and experiences of other disasters in

India, the reasons for unsatisfactory state of affairs & major causes of failures are brought out

below: -

(a) Lack of Effective coordination among various agencies resulting into in-efficient rescue

operations and delays in release of relief materials, suffering of people, chaos & confusion. It is a

fact that lot of human life could have been saved, had the Govt. could pulled the right string

timely.

(b) Lack or Complete absence of inter-agency flow of information, pertaining to the official plan

of action, procedures regarding receipt and distribution of material, nature & quantity of relief

material being distributed to the effected people and the place of distribution.

(c) Lack of transparency and accountability, regarding the money and material distributed to

the effected people as well as left as unused. Therefore, there is a general lack of trust between

the administration and the people.

(d) Delays in release of relief materials & funds and there-by-ultimate sufferings of the people.

(e) Bureaucratic management approach that is top-down, non-integrated & piecemeal. There

was generally no devolution of authority to take decisions at mid & lower levels. Roles &

responsibilities were not clearly specified. As a result there was a general lack of confidence

among staff to handle post- disaster situations.

(f) Past Experience in disaster management was not institutionalized and documented for use.

It was lost with the individual, when he left the assignment on normal transfer.

(g) Lack of comprehensive Disaster Mitigation Plan (DMP) at national, state, district & local

levels. The Contingency Action Plan available with states was not effective Lack of public

participation in reconstruction programmes, because of which, the houses constructed is not

getting adequate acceptance of the people and failed to serve the desired purpose.

(h) Lack of effective rehabilitation policies & programmes as a consequence, a large section of

the people is left to fend for themselves & struggle to rehabilitate their family.

(i) People’s attitude & behaviour is casual & directed to short-term personal gains. They do not

take early warning seriously & are caught in disaster situation/ conditions. In most states, it is

reported that the people insisted on cheaper buildings even at the cost of construction quality.

(j) Failures of Professionals (architects & engineers) in advising the people on magnitude of

damage, if quality of building is compromised for cost considerations. Engineers do not feel

accountable for damage to the buildings due to their faulty design or supervision. There is no

regulation in this respect.



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(k) Builders are not accountable for quality of construction once building is handed over &

mandatory six/ twelve-month period is over. There are no laws to regulate builders & their

performance.

(l) Failures of Planners to evolve rural housing models acceptable to the local

People & commensurate with their community living pattern where both

animals & people live on the same compound.

PROPOSED STRATEGY & RECOMMENDENDATION

Based on the study carried out after analysing various aspects, the following measures are recommended: -

A comprehensive National Policy framed on disaster management after considering the various recommendations made by the HPC & suggestions made in this paper, is to be implemented on ground properly. The culture of preparedness, quick response, strategic thinking & prevention, as brought out by the HPC, should be evolved and implemented on ground. The Centre’s role in combating disasters needs to be enhanced.

A separate Union Ministry for disaster management, which need to adopt Pro-active approach, is to be established. Similarly at the state level, a Separate Department of Disaster Management & Mitigation needs to be established.

The Home guards and NCC personnel should be trained in disaster Management, along with some Armed forces personnel & local

Panchayat members.

Disaster management aspects like preparedness, community response etc should form part

of curriculum in primary, high schools and colleges. Education and training in

disaster prevention, preparedness and Mitigation is necessary for minimizing effect

of disaster.

Identification and net- working of existing Centers of Excellence is to be done, so as to

enhance disaster prevention, reduction and mitigation activities. A National

Institute for Disaster Management (NIDM) needs to be strengthened as a centre

of excellence. NIDM is to be geared up towards emerging as “Centre of Excellence” at

National and International level.

Involvement and active participation of the community in combating disaster needs to be increased. The local bodies must be given additional role in this regard. The local level plans need to be prepared in detail and rehearsed in the Disaster prone areas; all state Govt. should reorganize their disaster management mechanisms. Panchayat and village disaster Management communities should be established.

A formal mechanisms to co-ordinate activities of NGOs to be evolved, to avoid duplication of work and formalized, as has been done US model for Disaster relief operations.



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Alternative means of communications/stand-by communication System should be given high priority.

There is an urgent need for careful study of all existing structures in Earthquake prone areas specially, based on various Indian Codal requirements and identifies the structures, which do not conform to Engineering requirements. The strengthening measures are to be incorporated for all future constructions and also for existing structures, without any further loss of time.

The use of Indian Standard codes of practices & building byelaws in the Construction of Government & private buildings is to be made compulsory and enforced properly. The hazard zonation map of the country need to be upgraded regularly.

To establish a creditable R & D organizations, under the new Ministry to develop modern mechanisms, in the field of disaster management. Further, as recommended by eleventh Finance Commission, National Centre for Calamity Management (NCCM) should be set up at the earliest.

The Central Govt. should publish & circulate all the lessons learnt in the Post disaster, to the states that are prone to specific disasters. This can be done by NDMA.

The existing warning systems, including infrastructure in disaster prone areas should be improved.

The Armed Forces being a major player in Disaster Management in India need to look inwards and formulate their own response mechanism including procurement of State of Art equipments and skill improvement, to maximise the utilisation of their resources and effort. Further, there should be synergy between Armed Forces and Civil Administration (Including NGOs) towards providing efficient response. In fact it is opined by many that the role of Armed forces need to be increased in tackling the major disasters in India, by providing more resources to the Army.

CONCLUSION Natural Disasters strike countries- both developed as well as developing. The frequency of

natural disasters is many times higher in India than in many other countries of Asia or Africa.

India has a mix of diverse topography, terrain, extremes of climate & an active ocean

environment. The mix creates conditions that are conducive for some of the worst natural

disasters including divesting cyclones, calamitous earthquakes & unchecked floods. All disasters

result in disruption of development projects either directly or through diversion of crucial

financial allocation, which gets used up in restoration efforts, in addition to untold sufferings of

the effected peoples.

India is trying to develop elaborate system to combat the disasters. We need to learn from

experiences of other countries including lessons learnt in floods, earthquake, Cyclone etc

occurred in our country in recent past. The various measures recommended in this paper are an



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absolute necessity, if we want to bring more professionalism & effectiveness in our system to

combat disasters and to reduce impact of natural disasters. Now a dedicated organization

NDMA is already working, which needs to be strengthened further and the centre should

assumes more responsibility including strengthening of Armed Forces, so that we would be able

to fully cope up with the challenges posed by the effects of disasters in 21st century. There is an

urgent need of nationwide mass awareness generation activities as a foundation layer of floods,

earthquake & other disaster preparedness in the country, so that the impact of disaster can be

reduced substantially.

_____________________________________________________________________

REFERANCES

1. High Powered Committee on Disaster Management Report (2001) Ministry of

agriculture, Government of India, Oct. 2001.

2. National Disaster Response Plan (2001) Ministry of agriculture, Government of India, Oct.

2001.

3. Culture of prevention (1999) by Sinhala Anil & proof. Sharma Vend Kumar, Natural

Disaster management Division, Government of India Publication.1999

4. IDNDR-Indian Experiences & Initiatives (1999) Ministry of agriculture,

Government of India, July 1999.

5. Bhatacharjee J (2001) “Earthquakes effect on various types of Buildings -Lessons learnt

from recent earthquake in Gujarat” in Indian Building Congress (IBC) National Seminar on

Earthquakes on Built Environment, at New Delhi, 24-26 May 2001.

6. Internet (2013) : http://www.youthkiawaj.com/author/nirhant.kasiwal

7. Anil Chait { 17 Sept14); Lessons to learnt from past floods

http://www.youthkiawaj.com/author/nirhant.kasiwal

NEED FOR IMROVEMENT IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN INDIA BASED ON LESSONS LEARNT FROM FLOODS IN UTTARAKHAND AND J & K

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