Eight countries to meet in Delhi to find best solution to tackle disaster
NEW DELHI: Senior Government representatives of eight countries will soon be meeting in Delhi for sharing best Disaster Management practices in their respective country. Officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) claimed that in 2019, there will be an exercise in Delhi-ncr which will consist officials from all eight nations with the objective to practice and strengthen the national and international response, coordination protocols and methodologies, in a major earthquake scenario requiring international assistance.
According to NDRF, on the directives of Government of India, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue (SCOJTEX)-2019 in two phases in Delhi and NCR. The first phase comprises a preparatory meeting scheduled for November 1 and 2, 2018 followed by a Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue (SCOJTEX)-2019 scheduled for February 21-24, 2019. The meeting will provide a platform to delegates to discuss types of events, modalities, venues, protocol and requirement etc for smooth conduct of main exercise.
Officials from India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be participating in the event which will be held this November. All of them are the members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which is an international alliance that consists of eight member states. Krishan Kumar, NDRF PRO, told Millennium Post that in the meeting, there will be a discussion on the best mechanism which was taken by member countries to tackle different kinds of disasters.
“In the meeting, emphasis will be laid to find out the best possible solution for dealing with the disaster which can be applied by these eight nations,” said PRO Kumar. He further added that there will discussion related to the protocols laid by the eight countries.
According to NDRF, all countries are exposed to a range of natural and man-made hazards. Natural events like earthquakes, floods, storms, landslides, epidemics etc are the major killers. If the member countries are able to prevent and reduce the impact of disasters and emergencies, it will have huge global benefits. Representatives from the MHA, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and other stake-holders will also be attending the meeting.