The mock exercise of incident response system for a seismic disaster held on Thursday had various striking features that have made the observers question whether the exercise was intended to be a mockery. On the Parade Ground in Dehradun from where the post-disaster efforts were conducted to aid the four ‘disaster affected’ districts, some of the police and civil defence personnel jumped the gun setting camp even before the disaster was officially communicated.
The mock exercise of incident response system (IRS) with the support of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in an earthquake scenario in Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts along with Dehradun was, however, marked by various problems like breakdown of communication equipment, delay in action in response to road block report and inadequate number of Government vehicles.
Observers point out that such mock exercises are meant to expose shortcomings in the disaster response system which can then be improved as required. Though delayed communication of the situation, lack of clear and reliable information was believed to have exacerbated damage and prolonged anxiety in the June 2013 disaster, the aspect of public communication was largely ignored in Dehradun and elsewhere.
Officially speaking, such an exercise also makes the masses aware of the risk of hazards faced in a country which has experienced 10 major earthquakes during the last 15 years resulting in more than 20,000 deaths. Public awareness was an neglected aspect of the exercise in Uttarakhand which is known to be vulnerable to varied disasters including seasonal landslides, forest fires, flash floods apart from earthquake. Considering the fact that earthquake is the most devastating and unpredictable disaster in the mountains, the mock exercise held on Thursday made it appear as if the focus was on meeting an official formality. An official on condition of anonymity said that the lack of inter-department coordination evidenced in mock exercises held so far on different disaster scenarios appeared to have changed little. He said, “Though one may succeed in taking measures which may appear text-book perfect in such exercises, the situation caused by actual disaster is quite different from text-book scenarios in the real world. The State’s first mock exercise on earthquake scenario should have reflected the logistical and other lessons learnt from the 2013 disaster but this was not taken seriously. The focus appears to be more on fulfilling official formalities to create grounds for the purchase of varied resources and equipment like satellite phones,” said the official.
It should be noted here that various glitches experienced during the mock exercise included breakdown of wireless communication for some time in Bageshwar, inadequate number of stretchers resulting in earthquake ‘victims’ being carried physically by hand. Responding to reported road blockage at the zero bend in Gopeshwar, Chamoli the JCB took an hour to reach the site while in Badkot, the response team got stuck in the traffic for about 20 minutes at Badkot while in Dehradun the team members appeared to have a casual approach towards transporting the ‘injured’ to medical attention. The Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) executive director Dr Piyoosh Rautela could not be reached for his comments when this correspondent telephoned him on Friday. It now remains to be seen whether the independent observers meant to analyse the exercise also end up meeting an official formality.