District disaster management plan now decentralised: DC Mullai Muhilan

Team Udayavani, Jul 1, 2024, 11:09 AM IST

Mangaluru: To facilitate easy local-level operations, a total of 292 disaster management plans have been prepared by decentralizing the district disaster management plan, said D.K. District Deputy Commissioner Mullai Muhilan.

Speaking to reporters in the city on Sunday, he said that a disaster management plan has been prepared for each gram panchayat, each ward in the corporation area, and other urban local bodies.

Previously, only one district-level disaster management plan was prepared, which was a large plan difficult to implement in smaller areas. The decentralized plans will address sensitive areas prone to natural disasters, identifying landslide-prone locations, population density, and relief measures based on previous records, he explained.

Each plan includes an “Incident Commander”. Similar to the district-level plan, human resources are consolidated under the decentralized plans, and they operate under the direction of the Incident Commander, the DC said.

Operations via App

Incident Commanders have already conducted surveys in their areas and finalized the plans. Based on this, an app has been developed to facilitate work at the officer level. Necessary items and equipment for rescue operations will be provided. Swimmers, diving experts, and ASHA workers will also be involved in these plans, he said.

Call and WhatsApp Messages routed to App

At the district level, helpline calls and WhatsApp messages to officials will be transferred to the Incident Commander via the app. They will inspect locally, make arrangements, and resolve complaints. This work has already started. In the future, complaints from the public on WhatsApp will be directly linked to the app.

Regulations for House Construction on Hill Slopes

There are plans to formulate regulations under the natural disaster management plan concerning house construction on hilly slopes. In several cases, hills are cut at a 90-degree angle, and houses are built at the base, or layouts are made. In many cases, building retaining walls is not beneficial. This has increased landslides over houses. Building houses on small plots is also problematic, the DC said.