Dear Readers

In January this year, a score of letters, faxes and emails were sent out from our office requesting for success stories. Destination—state disaster management authorities—every single one of them. And guess what, even after confirming every communication, not one of them deigned it fit to contribute one. Two thoughts – perhaps there weren’t any successful programmes in the states, or they couldn’t care less. You see, disaster management is all about high profile management, with the prime minister at the national level and chief ministers at the state level, but in reality it holds a low profile in the priority list. Life is cheap in India—a couple more here or there, how does it matter­­—it is all ‘god’s wish’.

The pivotal organisation of India, the much muscled National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), holds an abysmally low sense of responsibility. Adhoc-ism is the key. What could be more astounding that a sitting MLA belonging to a far out southern state is ordained a full time vice chairman, only next to the country’s prime minister; not to mention all the associated pomp, the poor gentleman is torn between the duties of his state and that of NDMA. Do we have no experts in this multi-crore nation who could lend more than partial support to steer the helm of disaster mitigation?

This G’nY issue is about those aspects of disaster management that need a new focus, such as disaster insurance, disaster and corporate social responsibility, geoinfomatics, disaster preparedness and more importantly calls for 30 per cent reservation for women in disaster relief forces.

Happy Reading!