Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Thursday said the reinstatement of the Harish Rawat Government in Uttarakhand is a lesson for those who have been “trying to murder democracy and depose Congress-led Governments”.
Talking to reporters here on the sidelines of a conference on disaster risk reduction measures in chemical, petroleum and gas industries, he said, “I am capable enough to face any type of disaster, be it natural, manmade or political disaster.”
Virbhadra Singh said he was happy that it was the victory of democracy in Uttarakhand. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday recommended revocation of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand.
Earlier, during the conference, he said with the renewed emphasis of the Government on disaster management and the paradigm shift in focus from rescue, relief and preparedness, there is a need to revisit the management of Chemical Disasters so that such disasters can be prevented, and if occurred, can be effectively managed.
He was presiding over the Conference of Chemical (Industrial) Disaster Management on disaster risk reduction measures in chemical, petroleum and gas industries organized jointly by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) and National Disaster Management Authority, (NDMA), New Delhi along with the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
The Chief Minister said that though the Chemical (Industrial) disasters were low in frequency but were very significant in the terms of loss of lives, injuries, environmental impact and property damage. Citing example of Bhopal gas tragedy in the year 1984, he said that it was the major chemical accident which took heavy toll of life. Thousands of lives were lost and the aftermath was borne by thousands others, even years after the tragedy struck.
Warning the communities about the environmental hazards because of chemical accidents, the Chief Minister said that we should assess the situation before hand and take precautionary measures, analyzing the harm the chemical units can cause. Thus, it is imperative to develop preventive measures like adoption of safer engineering practices, improved performance of safety devices and reduction of human errors by regular checks, he said.