Gujarat first state to enact legislation on disaster management: PM

New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that even after 50 years of Independence, there was no law regarding disaster management in the country, and it was Gujarat which first came out with a legislation on it in 2001.

The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating the third session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) here.

Talking about the poor state of disaster management in the years after Independence, Modi informed the audience that even after five decades, there was no law regarding disaster management.

“Gujarat was the first state that came out with the State Disaster Management Act in 2001. The then central government enacted the Disaster Management Act on the basis of this act. After that, the National Disaster Management Authority came into existence,” the Prime Minister said.

Incidentally, this is the third time in a week that the Prime Minister has pointed out the lack of focus on key areas after Independence.

On March 6, Modi, while addressing a post-budget webinar, had claimed that for several decades after Independence, there was a lack of an integrated approach and long-term vision in the health sector.

Later on the same day, while addressing the Gujarat Rojgar Mela, he had said that employment generation was neglected in the decades after Independence.

Addressing the NPDRR programme, the Prime Minister recalled the hundreds of fatalities caused due to cyclones hitting West Bengal and Odisha in the previous years, adding that with changes in strategies, India is now capable of dealing with cyclones and minimise the damage to life and property caused by them.

“We cannot stop natural calamities, but we can definitely minimise their effects by putting better strategies and systems in place,” Modi said as he lay emphasis on adopting a proactive approach rather than a reactive one.

Modi also said that the global appreciation for the work of the Indian rescue teams in Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes there recently has made every Indian proud.

During the event, Modi felicitated the recipients of the Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.

The winners of the 2023 Puraskar are Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and the Lunglei Fire Station, Mizoram.

–IANS

ans/arm