08/10/2021 - Disaster Management | Mainstorming

IAS Parliament 3 years

KEY POINTS

· When the traditional top-down disaster response system was compromised during the bad months of the pandemic, it was Panchayati Raj Institutions that played a remarkable role.

· The PRIs provided essential leadership at the local level. They performed both regulatory and welfare functions.

· For instance, during the nationwide lockdown, PRIs set up containment zones, arranged transport, identified buildings for quarantining people and provisioned food for the incoming migrants.

· Moreover, effective implementation of welfare schemes like MGNREGA and the National Rural Livelihood Mission quickened the pace of recovery while ensuring support to the vulnerable population.

· During the COVID-19 crisis, they organised community-based surveillance systems involving village elders, the youth and self-help groups (SHGs) to keep a strict vigil in quarantine centres and monitor symptoms in households.

· The Yokohama strategy during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction in May 1994 emphasised that it is important to focus on disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness rather than disaster response alone, to reduce vulnerability.

· Since the community is usually the first responder in case of a disaster, community-based disaster management plans would help.

· These would provide a strategy for resource utilisation and maintenance during a disaster. Such plans should tap the traditional wisdom of local communities which will complement modern practices.