National Disaster Management Team drains the Army in Sikkim

Friday , September 23 , 2011
Disaster team drain on army
SUJAN DUTTA
New Delhi, Sept. 22: The army in Sikkim is fed up with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) because its personnel are not only unfit for rescue and relief work but also a drain on the military’s resources.

Army officers are wary of speaking out in public on the difficulties of helping the NDRF — which they have been asked to by the home ministry — but it takes little for them to vent their ire in private.

“They (the NDRF) do not have any administrative support and they are eating into ours. They should remain in Delhi and Gurgaon to rescue cats from high-rises,” an angry officer said.

Officers on the ground have been constantly complaining to their superiors and higher headquarters on the demands being made by the NDRF.

“This is a time for all able people to get down on the ground with pickaxes and shovels but these NDRF personnel are not fit enough to walk 1,500 feet downhill and then 800 feet uphill,” one officer said.

Deployment in the Himalayan state demands acclimatisation and high-energy levels that are not ordinarily required in the plains. The 10 NDRF teams, of about 400 personnel, were flown in by the Indian Air Force’s newly acquired Super Hercules C-130J aircraft from Delhi and Calcutta.

For nearly two days they were stranded in Bagdogra and Siliguri waiting for army engineers to clear the road to Gangtok after Sunday evening’s quake.

The army was also asked to dedicate three helicopters to the NDRF, an order that it has grudgingly accepted.

“This is the time for all available resources to be put to the best use. But we have had to give them these helicopters and they are still in ‘recce mode’ while we are desperately looking for more for casualty evacuation and to fly in resources,” another officer said.

Sikkim is in the army’s Sukna-headquartered 33 Corps area of responsibility. The Corps has three divisions — 27 (headquartered in Kalimpong), 17 (Gangtok) and 20 (Binaguri). All three are mountain divisions with their soldiers acclimatised or acclimatising for deployment in high-altitude positions.

Many of the army posts along the 250-odd kilometre frontage with China in North and East Sikkim are still not physically accessible.

But there are nearly 6,000 troops whose main task now is to clear roads because the deployment for “border management” (a defensive posture) does not require all resources to be posted at the front.

The army has been deployed across Sikkim for 40 years and along with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police were the first responders to the quake.

An officer complained that not only has the NDRF been given dedicated helicopters, its officers also demand to be guided by the army.

The NDRF is a young force, formed after the 2004 tsunami. Ironically, former army chief, General (retired) Nirmal Chandra Vij heads the National Disaster Management Authority.
Disaster team drain on army

National Disaster Management Agency- Can it manage Tsunami's?

Vision
To build a safer and disaster resilient India by developing a holistic, pro-active, multi-disaster and technology-driven strategy for disaster management through collective efforts of all Government Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations
Role
NDMA as the apex body is mandated to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for Disaster Management to ensure timely and effective response to disasters. Towards this, it has the following responsibilities:-

Lay down policies on disaster management

Approve the National Plan;

Approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the Government of India in accordance with the National Plan

Lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plan

Lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or Departments of the Government of India for the Purpose of integrating the measures for prevention of disaster or the mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects

Coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy and plan for disaster management

Recommend provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation

Provide such support to other countries affected by major disasters as may be determined by the Central Government

Take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the mitigation, or preparedness and capacity building for dealing with the threatening disaster situation or disaster as it may consider necessary

Lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the National Institute of Disaster Management.

Friday, 11 Mar 2011
TSUNAMI IN JAPAN
After seeing the news reports of today’s devastating Tsunami in Japan, people were reminded of the worst memories of 2004 Tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean and there have been apprehensions and constant enquires about today’s Tsunamis’ impact in the Indian Coast.
The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre located in INCOIS, Hyderabad generated a bulletin within 8 minutes of the occurrence of a devastating tsunami that hit the coast of northeast Japan today in the aftermath of an 8.6 magnitude earthquake about 80 miles offshore and its location was off Honshu, Japan's most populous island. The quake's epicenter was 373 kilometers (231 miles) away from Tokyo, as per United States Geological Survey.
Based on the bulletin issued by INCOIS, Shri M.Shashidhar Reddy, Hon’ble Vice Chairman, National Disaster Management Authority, speaking to the media outside Andhra Pradesh Assembly in Hyderabad today, said that there is no threat for the Indian Ocean in the aftermath of this Tsunami. He further said that he has appraised the Prime Minister’s Office and also personally spoke to the Union Home Minister about the present situation.
He also stated that NDMA Control Room is constantly monitoring the situation.
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General Nirmal Chander Vij was the 21st Indian Chief of Army Staff during 31 Dec 2002 - 31 Jan 2005. He was born in January 1943 at Jammu. He completed his studies at the SRML Higher Secondary School, Jammu and joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1959. He was commissioned into the Dogra Regiment on 11 December 1962. Within weeks of his commissioning, he saw action in the Walong sector in the 1962 Indo-China War. Since then he has served in the eastern sector six times, the last time being as the General Officer Commanding of the IV Corps. Vij has served as the General Staff Officer of an Infantry Division, a Director in the Military Operations Directorate as a Colonel and Deputy Director General of Perspective Planning (Strategic Planning) as a Brigadier at Army HQ in New Delhi.

Vij served as the Major General, General Staff at the Western Command in Chandimandir, Chandigarh (Punjab) and during the 1999 Kargil War, he served as the Director General Military Operations (DGMO). During this time he was criticized for appearing, in his professional capacity before a group of senior BJP leaders, and briefing them. In 1999, he broke the military tradition to brief members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on operations in Kargil, when he was Director General of Military Operations. For his services as the DGMO, he was awarded the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal. He was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Khukri - to extricate trapped Indian peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone. The formations he has commanded include a mountain brigade involved in active counter- insurgency operations in the north east, an elite RAPID (Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Division) unit, the Strike Corps based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and the IV Corps based at Tezpur, Assam. He is also a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM). On 1 October 2000, Vij was appointed as the GOC of Southern Command at Pune and led the Army's rescue efforts during the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. In October 2001, he was appointed as the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) at New Delhi and in January 2002, he was appointed as the 10th Colonel of the Dogra Regiment and the Dogra Scouts. He was appointed as the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) on 31 December 2004. He is married to Rita Vij and they have a son, Nalin, who is a software engineer in the United States.

General Vij retired on 31 January 2005, after completing more than 42 years service. As of 2010, he is the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, with an equivalent rank of a Union Minister of State.
Biodata of Gen NC Vij

Recent Controversy- Adarsh Scam
Builders by name Adarsh Housing Cooperative Society have been constructing buildings in the prime government land in Mumbai. The permission for construction on this government land has been taken in name of providing the affordable accommodation to war widows and the land had been reserved for this purpose. However, many politicians, top military officials, other bureaucrats and their relatives have taken the ownership of the flats. Ashok Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra has resigned for his role in this scam. CBI is probing the scam. Gen N C Vij along with two other former military chiefs - Gen Deepak Kapoor, and Admiral Madhvendra Singh have offered to give up their apartments.

Experience gained managing National Disasters will enable Gen NC Vij to tide over his present disaster!

Gen. N.C.Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (Retd) Vice Chairman Appointment 28 September 2005 as Vice Chairman NDMA.
Gen Vij, who rose to be the Army Chief, was commissioned in the Indian Army in Dec 1962 and participated in all the Wars fought by India. The many noteworthy command and staff assignments handled by him, include those of Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

A highly acclaimed military strategist; as the DGMO during the Kargil War, he was responsible for organizing a coordinated withdrawal of Pakistan troops from the War Zone. Another feather in his cap as DGMO was to conceptualize and thereafter oversee the execution of the operations (OP KHUKRI), in Sierra Leone, wherein over 455 Indian Soldiers, serving as part of UN Peace Keeping contingent who had been taken hostage, were rescued in a dare devil operation. This action won worldwide acclaim and appreciation. His tenure as the Army Chief was acclaimed widely for a bold and imaginative strategy of laying a 670 km long fence all along the line of control in J&K, in a record time of nine months, thus reducing the infiltration to a trickle. He was also responsible for conceptualizing the raising of a new Command and Corps HQ each for providing a strategically balanced posture. For his distinguished service, he has been awarded Param Vishist Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal and Ati Vishist Seva Medal.

He has vast experience in disaster management. Among the most notable of his contributions in this field are in case of Orissa Super Cyclone, wherein he coordinated the assistance rendered by the Army. He personally handled the rescue and relief operations in Gujarat as Southern Army Commander and Tsunami as the Army Chief. On 28 Sep 2005, he was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, which is headed by the Prime Minister.
NDMA- Vision sans Mission
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Misplaced Priority of National Disaster Management Authority

The Vice Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Gen N. C. Vij released the ‘National Disaster Management Guidelines – Management of Drought’ compiled by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), here today. Speaking on the occasion he emphasized that drought is not merely a physical phenomenon characterised by conditions of soil, water and vegetation. It has a very deep implication on the social life and behaviour pattern of rural people.

The Guidelines for the Management of Drought have been formulated after a ‘nine step’ process fully taking on board various Central Ministries and Departments and the States. The process also included wide consultations with scientific and technical institutions, academics, technocrats and humanitarian organizations. The draft guidelines documents were circulated to all the Ministries/Departments at the Centre and the States for their feedback. All workable suggestions have been incorporated. (only six out of nine steps have been described the other three presumably falls under OSA- probably and perhaps not disclosed)

NDMA in its guidelines has identified many current challenges in drought management including;

criteria followed for drought declaration and the time when the drought is declared differs across the states

indicators used and the methodology followed for drought intensity assessment and drought monitoring differ largely from state to state

data sharing for drought assessment and drought declaration

insufficient use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools by various agencies in management of drought

Lack of check dams in the rainfed areas results in inadequate storage-water in times of need or drought

Lack of community participation in drought management activities at the village/tehsil level, and the low levels of involvement of Self Help Groups, NGOs and the corporate sector.
Read more:
NDMA Guidelines on Management of Drought Released

Comments and Suggestions
NDMA should focus on Disasters and not on Drought (which is only a water management problem).
NDMA has a Vision but no Mission
What then should be NDMA's Mission Statement?
NDMA mission should be to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

What is Disaster?
It strikes anytime, anywhere. It takes many forms- a hurricane, an earthquake, a tsunami, a flood, a fire or a hazardous spill including radioactive contamination, an act of nature or an act of terrorism. It builds over days or weeks, or hits suddenly, without warning. Every year, millions of Indians face disaster (On going floods in India is an example), and its terrifying consequences.

What is Drought?
Drought is only one component of a disaster which is mainly due to lack of rainfall (leads to farmers distress) caused mainly by excessive deforestation and compounded by man's greed to deplete natural resources. This should be addressed mainly by the Environment, Irrigation and Agriculture Ministry. The bureaucrats need to get their act together to Manage Disasters. Just by merely placing a retired General as Vice Chairman is not likely to improve Disaster management!