Visakhapatnam: The City Disaster Plan is still under pipeline though the process was started last year. A team of experts has been engaged for the task and the GVMC has been chosen one among the eight cities, across the country, for preparing the plan. In fact, the plan had to be prepared by September, but officials said it would take another three months since it requires industrial linkages for making it comprehensive one.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with financial support from USAID, approved a project on ‘Climate Risk Management in Urban Areas through Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation’, a year ago for preparing a disaster plan for the city. Bhubaneswar, Gangtok, Shimla, Thiruvananthapuram Madurai, Vijayawada, and Navi Mumbai were other cities where the similar exercise has been going on.
The GVMC and other line departments have been involved in preparing the report and premier institutions such as The Energy and Resources Institute, Risk Management Solutions India Private Ltd and many others were involved in suggestions and technical guidance.
In view of tackling tough conditions, during natural calamities like cyclones, industrial and manmade disasters, experts suggest that there should a comprehensive plan that would lessen the risk. But, the exercise has been for last one year and still some workshops have to be completed by getting suggestions from various stakeholders.
“The draft plan had to be updated according to suggestions from the experts. Since the city has many variants, like Navy, huge industrial organisations, distinctive topography, Bay of Bengal, the other aspects have to be carefully considered, while preparing the plan. We are speeding up the process to complete by end of the year,” said an official involved in the project.
The programme would have a significant focus on urban risk management, which would cover risk assessments, emergency preparedness and response, and urban risk reduction, according to the official.
