It is strange that considerable sums are spent on ex-gratia payments after natural disasters hit a region even though spending this amount on precautionary measures would save life and property from destruction. There is need for increasing awareness in society on undertaking precautionary measures to avoid death and destruction in natural disasters.
The National Disaster Management Authority member Prof Harsh K Gupta said this after inaugurating a two-day workshop on the modern perspective in Himalayan geosciences at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology on Tuesday. The workshop is being organised as part of the Indian Geophysical Union (IGU) golden jubilee year celebrations.
Addressing the gathering Prof Gupta said that public awareness on disasters was quite poor and a lot needs to be done to raise public awareness.
“While laws were there to ensure better precautionary measures against natural disasters, their proper enforcement is still not satisfactory,” he said while adding that there was a law that prohibits any construction within half a kilometre from high tide line but this law is seldom observed or enforced.