better safety measures & improve rescue operations
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Jyotirmath
A four-member team of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday conducted a site inspection of Mana near Badrinath, which was hit by an avalanche on February 28. The team will prepare and submit its report so that recommendations can be made for mitigating disasters and further improving relief and rescue works in such situations.
The NDMA team reached Badrinath by helicopter on Monday morning and from there it visited the site of the avalanche. The team members then sought details of the incident and relief works from the officials of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Border Roads Organisation. The team also sought information from the ITBP, BRO and the local administration about the problems while undertaking rescue and relief works. The team members also interacted with the ITBP personnel who were part of the rescue operation following the avalanche.
According to official sources, the main purpose of the NDMA team’s visit was to study the incident in order to prepare a report on mitigating the impact of such disasters and further improving relief works in disaster scenarios. It will be recalled that a total of 54 workers were stranded following an avalanche near Mana on February 28. The authorities managed to rescue 46 workers while eight died in the incident. Officials said that considering this, the Central government believes that the safety arrangements should be better. This is the reason why the NDMA team visited the site of the incident and interacted with the personnel involved in the rescue operation.
