Lucknow: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with Central Command, Indian Army successfully organised a seminar and a table top exercise on disaster management in Lucknow. This multi-stakeholder exercise brought together central ministries, disaster management institutions, early warning agencies and disaster management organisations from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
As key stakeholders in disaster management, the NDMA, State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) and Indian Army recognised the importance of continuous learning and exchange of best practices.
The participants included representatives from central ministries responsible for various aspects of disaster management including railways, road and transport, civil aviation, health and family welfare, environment, forests and climate change. National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), SDMA, Revenue Departments of the four States, and early warning agencies such as India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), National Centre for Seismology (NCS), Water Commission (CWC), and Geological Survey of India (GSI) under the Union Ministry of Mines also participated actively.
The aim of the exercise was to simulate emergency situations and practice the roles and responsibilities of key disaster managers while learning from domain experts about the latest trends in disaster relief. The scope included contemporary disaster issues in four States including earthquakes, landslides, floods, and avalanches.
Additionally, the exercise focused on lessons learnt from disaster management and relief operations in 2023, leveraging technology, economic cost of natural disasters in India, disaster vulnerabilities and incident response systems in Uttar Pradesh.
The table top exercise was a landmark event for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and strategic planning in disaster management and provided a valuable platform for stakeholders to collaborate, share knowledge, and enhance their preparedness for effective disaster management. By addressing the growing vulnerabilities associated with climate change, this exercise represents an important step towards building a more resilient and responsive disaster management framework in India.
The seminar and table top exercise was attended by senior disaster management and military leadership/hierarchy including Kamal Kishore, (Member & Head of Department, NDMA), Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) (Member, NDMA), Rajendra Singh (Member, NDMA). Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri (Retd), Vice Chairman, Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority and Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, GOC-in-C, Central Command also participated in the exercise.
