BBMP has no disaster management plan despite calamities claiming lives in Bengaluru
The Hindu
BBMP yet to draft disaster management plan despite Act mandating it; experts say DMP key to preventing tragedies. BBMP appoints 8 zonal officers to coordinate with disaster mgmt officials & draft DMP. Mahadevapura DMP already prepared; BBMP DMP to be readied soon.
Despite the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020, mandating the formulation of a disaster management plan (DMP), the civic body has none so far, even as the city has been reeling under multiple fire accidents, floods, and other disasters.
Section 284 (3) of the BBMP Act states that the corporation should prepare a ‘Fire hazard response and mitigation plan’ every year as prescribed by the State government and publish the plan in the official gazette. An expert said this is broadly termed as a DMP.
The city in the last two months witnessed as many as four major fire incidents, killing at least 18 people, while multiple instances of flooding have been causing inconvenience to the public. The BBMP’s actions for mitigating such incidents appear to be ad hoc and temporary in nature rather than permanent. On the other hand, the BBMP has no dedicated disaster management cell despite an order being passed in 2020 by the then Chief Commissioner to set up ward-level disaster management cells.
In October 2022, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath had said they would be appointing nine disaster management officers, one for the head office and eight at the zonal level, to coordinate with BBMP officials on disaster management. This has not been done to date. BBMP Special Commissioner (Projects) K.V. Thrilok Chandra, who has been appointed as nodal officer for Disaster Management, said the civic body invited applications for the appointment of 10 staffers in August 2023 and soon recruitment process would be completed. Two officers would be appointed for the head office.
Raghu B.V., a disaster management expert, said a DMP iscrucial to mitigate floods, fires, and other tragedies such as the collapse of old and under-construction buildings. In the absence of a DMP, such events are bound to recur. Under the DMP the BBMP should undertake a high-risk vulnerability assessment of every block coming under the jurisdiction of the civic body. It is this assessment — done every year — which holds the key to preventing tragedies. Mr. Raghu said the BBMP did not bother to fill the disaster management coordinator position that became vacant in 2020. In the absence of trained disaster management officials, the DMP cannot be prepared, he added.
The BBMP has now appointed eight zonal officers and they should coordinate with disaster management officials to draft a DMP at the zonal level. Mr. Trilok Chandra said in the course of time, the DMP would be prepared at the zonal level and soon the BBMP DMP would be readied. “The DMP for Mahadevapura has already been prepared,” he said.
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