New Delhi, February 24 (IANS): An international conference on disaster mitigation and management in India's northeastern region has called for a special cadre of engineers trained to assess damage as well as an "army" of masons and artisans to deal with post-disaster scenarios. The two-day conference, "When the Mountains Move and the Waters Rise", urged governments, scientists, researchers and civil society groups to break out of their silos, disciplines and departments and develop fresh approaches to disaster scenarios.
Organised by the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research at Jamia Millia Islamia in collaboration with National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), the North Eastern Council, the central government, and National Centre for People's Action in Disaster Management(NCPDP), Ahmedabad, the two-day conference that concluded on Wednesday focused on health and shelter.
The conference underlined the lack of a network of specially trained engineers "who can be the first assessors of damage" based on sound engineering and science to provide a rational basis for a just compensation package, according to a statement issued by the organisers.
Another priority was to create communities of trained caregivers who can counsel those suffering the effects of trauma. Institutes like National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) could take a lead in this sector.
"The suddenness of calamities often caught governments unawares. Thus, in terms of post-disaster capacity building, governments and partner groups need to have the curriculum and trainers to launch rapid training programs which will create an army of artisans (masons, carpenters etc.) for rebuilding programmes," the statement said.
Those who participated included technical experts from Nepal and India, especially from the northeast, representatives of the NIDM, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), state disaster management authorities (SDMAs) of Mizoram and Assam, Andhra Pradesh, as well social scientists and other Himalayan scholars, environmentalists, activists and officials from the UN.
According to the recommendations of the conference, while it is not possible to make all infrastructure disaster-free, it is important that every vulnerable human settlement in the northeastern region be assessed with regard to multiple, current risks.
This information must be put in the public domain in simple local languages.
Governments, academic institutions, the private sector and civil society organisations need to develop innovative partnerships. Local communities need to acquire the sustained competence to innovate and absorb other forms of knowledge, technologies and practices.
Traditional ways of habitat planning need to be built into a repository while exploring ways of connecting the best of the vernacular to “modern” processes through participatory methods and recognition of local knowledge, the conference recommended In post-disaster conditions, it has been observed that due to lack of preparedness precious time is lost, resulting in avoidable hardships.
The progress of shelter and rehabilitation construction should be placed in the public domain, the recommendations said.
