Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju will lead an Indian delegation to the 6th Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in Bangkok beginning tomorrow. The conference provides a platform to the disaster managers throughout Asia to share their experiences in reducing disaster risk in the region. India will showcase the steps taken by the Government in evacuating nearly a million people during the cyclone ‘Phailin’ that hit Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coast in October last year. Shri Rijiju will also highlight the leaps in satellite imagery and precise weather forecasting tools that made the authorities better prepared to face the biggest storm to have hit the Indian coast in more than a decade and resulted in saving a large number of lives and minimized losses to livestock.
The Government of India is committed to reduce disaster risk in a planned manner. The Indian delegation will share the various measures being taken by the federal Government as well as the State Governments in reducing disaster risk. The five-day conference is being hosted by the Government of Thailand in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction from June 22-26, 2014. The major objective of the Conference is enhancing community resilience at local level. The meeting affords an opportunity to learn the best practices in the area of disaster management.