Major SDRF training institute to be established in Palampur: CM

Awareness is the key to effectively face disasters so as to minimize the loss of life and property.  Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that it has been observed that due to changing climatic pattern, the frequency of disasters has led to an increase and we have to adapt ourselves living with these challenges.

Chief Minister was presiding over the International Disaster Reduction Day event, ‘Samarth-2024’.

He said that the state government was spending significant amount of money to raise public awareness about disaster preparedness and has implemented several measures to mitigate the effects of disasters. The authorities must be prepared to tackle future challenges due to disaster for which the government has executed  Rs. 800 crore project in collaboration with the French agency AFD and Rs. 500 crore was being spent from the mitigation fund. He also announced that a major SDRF training institute would be established in Palampur and that the state is strengthening its infrastructure for better weather forecasting. 

The Chief Minister said that the state experienced its first major disaster in the year 1905, when an earthquake in Kangra district claimed over 20,000 lives. He said that the people of the state experienced significant devastation last year during the monsoon season with over 500 lives lost accompanying with damage to public and private property amounting to Rs 10,000 crore. Despite receiving no assistance from the central government, the state government has successfully rehabilitated 23,000 affected families and implemented a disaster relief package of Rs 4,500 crore. Under this package, compensation for completely destroyed homes has been raised from Rs 1.30 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh. Furthermore, the government has amended rules to ensure compensation for families of individuals who went missing during disasters.

The Chief Minister said that we have not received Rs. 10,000 crore for the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) from the centre. “Despite hurdles created by the opposition, it was due to repeated representations and my personal intervention some progress was made in this direction”, he stated.   There should be no politics in such matters and full assistance must be provided to those affected, he remarked. 

“During the disaster, I remained on ground for 72 hours, personally monitoring the evacuation.  As many as 75,000 tourists and 15,000 vehicles were evacuated to safety” said Sh. Sukhu. Within 48 hours, essential services like electricity, water and communication were temporarily restored, which stabilized the situation to quite some extent. The government also ensured minimal disruption for farmers, especially apple growers, allowing their produce to reach markets on time. Our efforts were recognized and eulogized by the World Bank, NITI Aayog and former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar as well. 

The Chief Minister also shared how the government successfully rescued 303 stranded tourists from Chandratal in Lahaul-Spiti district with Minister Jagat Singh Negi and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi taking the lead in challenging situation risking their lives and ensuring safe return of all tourists. 

The Chief Minister also launched a State Disaster Mitigation Fund portal and introduced an Earthquake Retrofitting Programme for Critical Buildings in state. This initiative is supported by technical expertise from CBRI Roorkee, NITTTR Chandigarh and NIT Hamirpur. Additionally, a programme titled Rebuilding Live was also launched to develop a Resilient Model Village at Gram Panchayat Bawasni in District Solan, in collaboration with Bal Raksha Bharat and Zee Enterprises Limited.

He said that the HPSDMA has also signed a MoU with Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee to enhance the skills of engineers, architects, builders and masons across the state. As part of this collaboration, a Training and Demonstration Unit (TDU) would be established at Rait in Kangra district, aligning with the goals of the AFD programme.

During the event, the Chief Minister released two publications, ‘Kavach-1’ and ‘Kavach-2’, authored by scientists from the CBRI, Roorkee. He also honored children who had won various competitions and presented awards to several individuals for their exceptional work during the Samej, Bagipul and Rajban cloudburst incidents earlier this monsoon.

The Chief Minister further awarded Kangra and Chamba districts for being the best performing districts in the state’s “Creation of Task Force of Youth Volunteers for Disaster Preparedness and Response” scheme.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a disaster awareness exhibition at the Ridge.

MLA Harish Janartha, Mayor Surender Chauhan, Deputy Mayor Uma Kaushal, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma, ADGP Satwant Atwal, Director CBRI, Roorkee Pradeep Kumar, Special Secretary Revenue DC Rana, Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap and SP Sanjeev Gandhi were also present on the occasion amongst others.