Joshimath, Lessons From Turkey Earthquake On Centre's 2-Day Meet Agenda

Parts of Joshimath are sinking but what led it to be declared a "subsidence-hit zone" is still unclear. To look for answers, the centre is going to discuss "devbhoomi" is affected by over-construction or the obstruction of the natural flow of water in a two-day meet starting Friday.

"Issues related to all sorts of rapidly changing disaster risk in the wake of climate change would be discussed," said Kamal Kishore, member secretary of National Disaster Management Authority or NDMA.

According to him, the focus of the two-day meeting would be on capacity-building, especially in the wake of rapidly changing disaster risk scenarios. "Building resilience in changing climate is the theme this year. So, issues related to subsidence-hit zones in Uttarakhand and in Jammu Kashmir are on agenda," he explained.

"Issues related to natural calamities would also be discussed. Infact, a separate session is being organised as to what lessons have been learnt from the Turkey earthquake and how to implement those lessons, " explained Atul Karwal, Director-General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

As per the Home Ministry, as many as 1,500 participants would participate in the meet which would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Each state would be represented by ministers, representatives of local bodies, heads of specialised disaster management agencies, academicians, representatives from private sector organisations, media and civil society organisations.

"All stakeholders would share knowledge, experiences, views and ideas, and discuss the latest developments and trends in disaster risk reduction (DRR), identify gaps, make recommendations, and forge partnerships to further accelerate disaster risk reduction efforts," explained a senior functionary in the ministry.

According to him, the subject experts, practitioners, academicians and delegates will deliberate upon various cross-cutting issues on disaster risk reduction based on the 'Sendai Framework' and the 10-point agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and provides Member States with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disaster.

The meet - National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction or NPDRR - is jointly being organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM).