With the renewed emphasis of the Government on disaster management and the paradigm shift in focus from rescue, relief and preparedness, there is a need to revisit the management of Chemical Disasters so that such disasters can be prevented, and if occurred, can be effectively managed.This was stated by Chief Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh while presiding over the Conference of Chemical (Industrial) Disaster Management on disaster risk reduction measures in chemical, petroleum and gas industries organized jointly by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) and National Disaster Management Authority, (NDMA), New Delhi along with the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), here today.He said that though the Chemical (Industrial) disasters were low in frequency but were very significant in the terms of loss of lives, injuries, environmental impact and property damage. Citing example of Bhopal gas tragedy in the year 1984, Chief Minister said that it was the major chemical accident which took heavy toll of life. Thousands of lives were lost and the aftermath was borne by thousands others, even years after the tragedy struck, he said.
Warning the communities about the environmental hazards because of chemical accidents, the Chief Minister said that we should assess the situation before hand and take precautionary measures, analyzing the harm the chemical units can cause. Thus, it is imperative to develop preventive measures like adoption of safer engineering practices, improved performance of safety devices and reduction of human errors by regular checks, he said.The Chief Minister said that though Himachal Pradesh was prone to various natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, flash floods, snow storms and avalanches; the fear of earthquakes always looms large as Himachal was in seismic zone IV and V, with very less chances of such chemical disasters.In Himachal there were 362 industries which were hazardous as defined in first schedule of Factories Act, 1948. Eight factories have been identified as Major Accident Hazard (MAH) units which were located in Solan, Sirmour, Kullu, and Una districts, he said. He further added that the respective Deputy Commissioners were responsible for preparation of offsite emergency plans where these units are located.Shri Virbhadra Singh said that the need for an effective Disaster Management strategy to reduce the impact of disaster was very much essential in many quarters. The goal of emergency preparedness programs was to achieve a satisfactory level of readiness, to respond to any emergency situation through programs that strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of Governments, organizations, and communities, he added.
He said that the conference would certainly help the Industry in Himachal Pradesh towards better preparedness and keep in pace with the best global practices on Industrial safety and health management.The Chief Minister also presented the life time achievement award for contribution towards Disaster Management to Shri Alop. K. Mittal and Shri L. Mansingh, Former Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Regulatory Board of India.Additional Chief Secretary, Shri Tarun Shridhar, who is also the Member Secretary of Disaster Management Authority, while addressing on the occasion said that the State had prepared its own Disaster Management Plan keeping in view the periodicity, seasoning, the places which were more prone to different type of disasters.Shri Abhishekh Jain, Labour Commissioner and Director Rural Development and Panchayati Raj also spoke on the occasion.Earlier, Shri Vinay Shankar Mathur, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI, welcomed the Chief Minister and other dignitaries.Shri K.K. Jha, Member, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Regulatory Board of India and Lt. General (Dr) J.R. Bhardwaj, Chairman CIDM, and former Member NDMA also expressed their views.
Earlier, while speaking on the sidelines of the function with the media, about the political developments in Uttrakhand, the Chief Minister quipped that he was capable enough to face any type of disaster, be it natural, manmade or political disaster. He said that he was happy that atlast it was the victory of democracy in Uttrakhand. It was lesson to those who were trying to murder the democratic set up and making attempts to oust the congress led Governments in various states.The Chief Minister said that the State Disaster Management Authority would be further strengthened with the assistance of NDMA.Speaking on the cloud burst incident at Chewadi, near Sunni, he said that a team of Disaster Response Force had been called for and they would be reaching today to trace the missing persons who were washed away.