Friday 03 September 2010 Government 2.0: The Road Ahead
India calls for SAARC level disaster management system

The Home Minister of India Shivraj Patil has called upon the South Asian nations to use their strength in science and technology to build a robust system of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to reduce the risks of natural and man-made disasters.

New Delhi: The Home Minister of India Shivraj Patil has called upon the South Asian nations to use their strength in science and technology to build a robust system of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to reduce the risks of natural and man-made disasters.<!--more-->

Inaugurating the SAARC Workshop on Application of Science and Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in South Asia here today, he pointed out that South Asia has the largest scientific and technical manpower in the world.

"Many of its scientists and technologists are supporting the most advanced scientific, research and technical institutions around the world. Some of its scientific and technical institutions are also at par with the best in the world," he said.

Drawing the attention of the workshop to the fact that various regions of the sub-continent are prone to earthquakes, Patil stressed the need for sustained scientific research on earthquake, particularly in the Himalayan region, so as to be able to identify the fault zones and the return period more accurately.

He said that earthquake resistant designs and technology would have greater acceptance if it makes use of local ethos and locally available building materials.

Describing cyclone risk mitigation as another priority area for scientists, the Minister said that prediction of the precise location of the landfall was essential so that the people who would not be affected by the storm surge do not have to be evacuated.

He also highlighted the need to deal with the challenges like sea level rise and climate change. The Home Minister said that India would extend all possible assistance and cooperation to all its neighbouring countries for better management of disasters in the region.

Scientists and policy-makers concerned with application of science and technology for disaster risk reduction and management in the member countries of the SAARC are attending the two-day workshop.

The workshop would develop a road map for regional cooperation in the field of science and technology for disaster risk reduction and management.
—iGovernment Bureau

I think it is extremely important for India to implement this urgently. India is should be a very responsible country in region for itself and for its neighbours.
India declared itself Bird flu free in December 2007 during the International conference on HPAI and agreed to fund 2 million USD, however now just within a month we have one of the largest outbreaks. For example the present Bird flu cases in West Bengal is believed to be originated from Bangladesh, and per day loss from poultry sector in India is surely more than 10 Million US dollars within the country. Surely India makes at least 100 -200 million USD by exporting poultry to Bangladesh annually.
So considering that surely India should become SAARC donor atleast annually about 20 -30 Million dollars @ 4-5 million dollars in each our neighbours kind of open source funds which half of this atlesat should be for disaster preparedness.
May be the bird flu is a good opportunity for early warning and management, yesterday somebody's problem is today it is our problem and it affects worse.
Hope we as Indians will contribute to a great and safe regional stability.

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