Aapda-Samvaad

Interview: Kamal Kishore on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) conducted a two-day International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) on January 15-16, 2018 in New Delhi. Participants from more than 20 countries, multilateral development banks, the United Nations, the private sector and academics attended the workshop. To know more about IWDRI and resilient infrastructure, AapdaSamvaad spoke with Shri Kamal Kishore, Member, NDMA.
Q. Please tell us more about this workshop.
A. In November 2016, India hosted the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR). During this conference, our Prime Minister had announced that India will work with other partner countries and stakeholders to develop an international coalition on disaster resilient infrastructure. The workshop that was held in January was a step in this direction. This w…

International Workshop on  Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

Infrastructure has shaped human civilization for millennia. Various traditional infrastructure systems, from the drainage system of Indus valley civilisation cities to the system of interconnected lakes in Udaipur, clearly show that our ancestors had a lot of foresight in building resilient systems that have served us for centuries. The way a generation builds its infrastructure either builds risk or resilience for its future generations.
The world will see an unprecedented infrastructure growth in the coming decades and the responsibility of ensuring resilience of this infrastructure lies with our generation.
To take the agenda of disaster resilient infrastructure forward, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) organised a two-day International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) on January 15-16, 2018) in New Delhi.
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Disaster that never happened

One of the most common hazards in the young Himalayan belt is landslides, which block rivers and roads, cause damage to infrastructure and may result in loss of human lives. One such landslide occurred near the Phuktal river probably on December 31, 2014 about 90 km from Padum in Kargil district of Jammu & Kashmir. The landslide, which blocked the course of river Phuktal, built a massive landslide dam lake of along the river’s length – approximately 15 km long submerging nearly 270 hectares of land – posing a great threat to life, property and infrastructure, especially the Nimmo Bazgo dam, in case of a sudden breach.
Noticing a sudden decrease in the flow of water, the district administration conducted an aerial survey on January 18, 2015 and confirmed a blockage across Phutkal. A technical committee was formed to study the blockage and the situation was reported to the National Disaster Management Authority for further action.
Meanwhile, the district ad…