Jammu, Apr 11: Principal Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (DMRRR), Chandraker Bharti on Saturday chaired a UT-level review meeting regarding preparedness-cum-coordination for Pre-Monsoon preparedness here at Civil Secretariat here.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Deputy Commissioners (Chairpersons DDMAs)-All, besides officers from Jal Shakti Department, Public Works (R&B) Department, Housing & Urban Development Department, Health & Medical Education Department and Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Department.
Representatives from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, JMC, SMC NDRF, SDRF, Civil Defence, Army, Police, Central Armed Police Forces, Border Roads Organisation, NHAI and other stakeholder agencies also participated in the meeting.
During the meeting, it was informed that Jammu and Kashmir is highly vulnerable to a wide range of natural and human-induced disasters including floods, flash floods, landslides, earthquakes, forest fires, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), fire incidents and other calamities, resulting in loss of precious human lives and damage to property and infrastructure.
Emphasising on the importance of disaster risk reduction, the Principal Secretary underscored the need for a proactive and comprehensive approach through sustained and coordinated efforts among Government agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations and the general public with active community participation.
He stressed upon adoption of proactive ‘Zero Casualty Approach’ during natural calamities and called for strengthening inter-departmental coordination, identification of structural and non-structural vulnerabilities and leveraging technology for robust early warning systems.
The Principal Secretary also directed all Emergency Support Functionaries, line departments, Divisional and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Fire and Emergency Services and other concerned agencies to adopt a proactive approach towards preparedness, mitigation and prompt response to any disaster-related eventuality during the pre-monsoon period.
He directed all departments and DDMAs to regularly update details of human resources, machinery and equipment on the India Disaster Resource Network (IDRN) portal.
He also emphasised on conduct of regular mock drills, including night-time simulations, and called for making such drills mandatory to ensure better preparedness.
The DDMAs were directed to share Incident Response System (IRS) notifications and operational details with Army, Police, Central Armed Police Forces and SDRF for better coordination during emergencies.
The Principal Secretary further stressed upon regular training of frontline workers across departments and active involvement of youth and Aapda Mitras in disaster preparedness initiatives at district and sub-district levels through capacity building programmes.
The Geological Survey of India (GSI), Central Water Commission (CWC), Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE) and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) were directed to convene coordination meetings for effective data sharing and constitute a Steering Committee involving all stakeholders.
Regarding preparations for the forthcoming Machil Mata Yatra, the Principal Secretary asked the Divisional Commissioner Jammu to ensure all preparedness measures are put in place for smooth and successful conduct of the Yatra scheduled to commence from April 2026.
