May 19, 2011

Are we prepared to tackle a major disaster?

A news item in the Hindu newspaper indicates that a mock drill that was held in Andhra Pradesh had shortcomings. The report mentions that
"During the exercise, it was found that except fire, police, revenue, medical, and civil supplies departments, the other departments did not respond to the expected level to the crisis. According to a senior official, there was zero response from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) stating that the accident area did not fall under their jurisdiction.
“The officials concerned failed to respond even after information was passed on to Hyderabad. Will their reaction be the same if such an accident occurs in reality?” asked an official. He also admitted that many of the district officials failed to participate in the exercise and that there was a need to check their preparednes".
 If after 27 years after the Bhopal disaster, we are still not prepared, I wonder what the situation will be when an actual disaster strikes!
Read the article in this link

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