Third regional conference on disaster management starts in Lucknow

A ‘flood atlas’ developed by NRSC, Hyderabad was also unveiled by the Chief Minister at the inaugural session of the two-day conference

Strict vigilance and prior awareness were essential to control the impact of disasters, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday in Lucknow, while addressing the third ‘Regional Conference’ on disaster management organised under the banner of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Mr. Adityanath said, “Prior awareness and vigilance are important to control the impact of disasters”.

The representatives of eight States namely Bihar, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam, Chandigarh and Madhya Pradesh, and of various agencies related to disaster management apart from subject experts, are participating in the two-day conference organised at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.

The U.P. Chief Minister highlighted the need to include the course in disaster management and road safety in the school curriculum and called for implementing an ‘Early Warning System’ to control deaths due to lightning strikes. A ‘flood atlas’ developed by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad was also unveiled by the Chief Minister at the inaugural session of the two-day conference. The CM stressed the need to stop road accidents.

“Nearly 30,000 people die due to road accidents. This needs to stop. Awareness must be raised”, Mr. Adityanath added.

The Chief Minister said that if people knew what precautions were to be taken during floods and earthquakes, the loss of lives and property could be prevented.

Mr. Adityanath also discussed about the ongoing efforts for a permanent solution to curb floods in the State. The CM claimed that until a few years ago, as many as 38 districts of U.P. were damaged by floods every year but now only four were affected.