Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan inaugurated the Kerala State Disaster management Authority, which will coordinate efforts to tighten the State's preparedness to combat disasters and avert them through precautionary measures.The authority, constituted under the Disaster Management Act passed by Parliament in 2005, will be under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, with the Revenue Minister as vice-chairman.
It will have an expert committee to advise it and a State level committee to implement decisions, with the involvement of the police, Fire and Rescue Services, scientific institutions and all other agencies that can contribute to its objectives. There will be implementation committees at the district-level also. Kerala is the first State in the country to set up such an authority under the Central Act passed in the context of the tsunami tragedy in December 2004. the authority would act as an institutionalized mechanism to identify the possibilities of disasters, take precautions and ensure coordinated action from various agencies to manage crisis situations. Training, awareness building and equipping the disaster handlers with everything they needed for rescue work in the event of a tragedy would form part of the responsibilities of the authority.
(The Hindu, 10th May 2007)
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