A life-saving endeavour

Cyclonic storms keep hitting India almost every year, be it in the Arabian Sea or in the Bay of Bengal. Generally, cyclones are generated by atmospheric disturbances around a low-pressure area. Cyclones are usually followed by severe storms and bad weather. If we look at the events of the last 2 to 3 decades, the dangerous storms that India had to face, a large number of people had to suffer in addition to the loss of life and property. On the contrary, the precautionary preparations made by the Central and State governments after receiving information about Cyclone Biparjoy, which hit Gujarat recently, at least saved lives.

The alertness, patience, prudence and seriousness with which the head of the house succeeds in reducing the magnitude of the crisis to zero during calamities, such characters are the ones who are established in history as Dhirodatta heroes. In the last nine years of PM Modi’s tenure, it has been proved time and again that he does not lose patience in any disaster when it comes to saving the lives of the countrymen, and confronts them with well-thought-out strategies; be it cyclones, other natural calamities or heavy rains and floods, any threat to the security and integrity of the country or a global pandemic like Covid-19. With his action plans, he has been able to manage the prevention of loss of life and other damages effectively.

PM Modi’s guidance and strategies proved effective in dealing with the recent cyclone Biparjoy. He alerted the governing and administrative machinery ahead of time to deal with the crisis of Biparjoy. He himself undertook high-level meetings with the agencies, Centre and Gujarat, to ensure that the residents of the affected areas of the cyclone were transported to safer places, and maintenance of essential arrangements like electricity, water, health and telecommunication was ensured. The Prime Minister also ensured the safety of the animals, which is a testimony to his sensitivity. As a result of the instructions by the Prime Minister, the control rooms, that are an integral part of the preparedness to deal with the cyclone, worked day and night and continue to do so.

In the last about one decade, a lot of efforts have been made to prevent loss of lives due to cyclones in different regions of India. Some dangerous cyclones also resulted in loss of lives. But in the advance arrangements made to deal with Biparjoy cyclone, public safety was kept on priority. The Meteorological Department had forecasted that there could be rain with strong winds in many states of India. In view of these circumstances, concrete security arrangements were made in the respective states by chalking out an effective action plan. I believe that due to all these arrangements, the loss of lives due to the effect of Biparjoy could be prevented.

How could all this have been possible?

As we know, about 58 per cent of the land area in India is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity, and more than 40 million hectares of area i.e., 12 per cent of the country’s land area, remains prone to floods. We have about 5,700 km of coastal area up to 7,516 km of cyclone and Tsunami prone area. Keeping all these things in mind, the Prime Minister has paid a lot of attention to the strategies of disaster management so that the poor people affected by disasters do not suffer loss of life and property.

The first and most important point in the disaster management strategy adopted by the PM is pre-disaster management and preparation. Despite this, if a disaster occurs and the preparations prove to be inadequate, and if the disaster causes damage, then complete preparations for rehabilitation should be made besides reconstruction and restoration of normalcy after rehabilitation. The Prime Minister has put together all these points in his management strategy. Due to his efforts, today, disaster management is essentially included in the process of development in our country.

Apart from this, the Prime Minister has further strengthened the role of all the ministries related to disaster management. He has linked ministries like Atomic Energy, Civil Aviation, Earth Sciences, Environment and Forests, Home, Health, Railways, Space and Water Resources to preparedness for the management of disasters.

The Prime Minister has also emphasised on modernising the systems for forecasting and warning of disasters and using the latest systems, so that all the concerned agencies are aware of the forecasting of disasters by playing an active role. Modi is also in constant contact with the World Meteorological Organisation, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System and other regional and global organisations.

I, on behalf of the citizens of Madhya Pradesh, heartily congratulate Prime Minister Modi, whose farsightedness and effective strategy have given the countrymen a protective cover along with happiness and prosperity.

The writer is the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Views expressed are personal