For
a 'Fire Safe' India
A
fire can occur anywhere. If not handled carefully, it can lead to a huge loss
of life and assets. In fact, with rapid economic development, emerging
technologies, shortage of prime land and lifestyle changes, fire risk continues
to be one of the major causes of loss of human lives in the country. As
recently as May this year, at least 22 students lost their lives and many
others were injured when a fire broke out at a commercial complex in Surat,
Gujarat. This incident highlighted the urgent need to improve fire safety
preparedness in the country.
Globally,
the very recent devastating forest fire in the Amazon basin eroded huge tracts
of rain forests and arrested the world's attention. Global warming and Climate
Change have increased the frequency and intensity of forest fires and they are
a cause of concern in India as well.
While
India has an institutional mechanism in place, both at the Central and State
levels, and has taken various measures to reduce the country's fire risk, fire
accidents indicate certain gaps that need to be addressed. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), therefore, chose 'Fire Safety' as the theme for its
15th Formation Day.
Inaugurating
the celebrations, Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G.
Kishan Reddy, stressed upon learning from past incidents and adopting
international best practices for fire risk prevention and mitigation. He also emphasized
on capacity building of government functionaries, awareness generation among
people through mock drills and the need for enforcing rules and regulations.
During
the day-long event, three technical sessions were held covering the various
aspects of fire risks and safety. The first session 'Fire Risk in India'
focused on emerging issues on Fire Safety Management in the country. The
session also saw presentations on issues pertaining to Forest Fires and their
linkages with global warming and climate change. Various aspects of Industrial Fires were also discussed. The
second session held discussions on various measures that could be taken to
prevent and mitigate fire related events, especially in urban areas.
During
the session on 'Institutional Challenges and Issues', aspects related to the
need for modernization and technological upgradation of Fire Services in the
country, vis-à-vis the rapid developmental growth, were discussed.
"Fire
preparedness requires all relevant stakeholders - from the national right up to
the local and community level - to come together," said Dr. P. K. Mishra,
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. He added that those in charge of
enforcing regulations should be trained on legal and technical provisions, fire
types, associated risks, fire prevention, mitigation and response mechanisms
besides incorporating the latest technology and equipment for fire prevention,
mitigation and response.
Shri
G. V. V. Sarma, Member Secretary, NDMA, highlighted the activities undertaken
by NDMA during the last one year to reduce disaster risks in the country and consolidate
India's efforts towards regional and international collaboration for DRR. Shri
Sarma also underlined the need for a conscious and planned effort by all the
states for improving our firefighting capabilities.
To be effective, fire risk
reduction needs to strengthen institutional mechanisms, involve the communities
at risk, generate public awareness, and ensure there is a constant state of
preparedness. Discussions at this Formation Day will
go a long way in meeting challenges and reducing our socio-economic vulnerabilities to fire risk.
1. Comments will be moderated by NDMA'seditorial team. 2. Comments that are abusive, personal, incendiary or irrelevant cannot be published. 3.Please write complete sentences. Do not type comments in all capital letters, or in all lower case letters, or using abbreviated text. (example: u cannot substitute for you, d is not 'the', n is not 'and'). 4. We may remove hyperlinks within comments. 5. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name, to avoid rejection.
Comments
Post a comment