Prime Minister Modi chairs a high-level meeting to review the preparedness for an unforgiving summer
The summer season set in early this year; in fact, February was warmer than usual. This has occasioned some concern all over the country—including in the quarters that matter. So Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to review the preparedness for hot weather in the upcoming summer at his residence. Senior officials, including Cabinet Secretary, from various ministries and departments participated in the meeting. The India Meteorological Department informed him about the weather forecast for the next few months and the likelihood of a normal monsoon. He was also briefed about the impact of weather on Rabi crops, expected yields of major crops, and the efforts undertaken to monitor irrigation water supply, fodder and drinking water. Also reviewed at the meeting were the preparedness of states, hospital infrastructure in the event of emergencies, and other measures to tackle the situation arising because of high temperatures. The Prime Minister, according to an official press release, said that separate awareness material should be prepared for different stakeholders including citizens, medical professionals, municipal and panchayat authorities, disaster response teams like firefighters, etc. He also emphasized upon the protocols and dos and don’ts for hot weather and use of mass media to spread awareness about the measures to be taken. The Prime Minister has directed the IMD to issue daily weather forecasts in a manner which can be easily interpreted and disseminated. He also stressed on the need for detailed fire audits of all hospitals and mock fire drills in all hospitals by firefighters.
What makes the meeting a bit unusual, if not unheard of, is the fact that the authorities at all levels in our country are reactive rather than proactive. Worse, they are often not effectively reactive. Normally, there are no standards regulating public activities; often disasters spur our political masters to come up with norms for public life. It was a fire in a Delhi cinema hall over a quarter of a century ago which woke up the officials concerned to come up with the norms stipulating exits and exit lights, public announcement system, emergency lights, foot lights, etc. The human cost was very high: 59 died and over a hundred people died. A road accident around the same time reminded the bureaucrats in the national capital that buses carrying school children should adhere to certain rules. In recent times, there was failure at all levels of governance to come up with measures to mitigate the devastation caused by the second wave of Covid-19. In April and May 2021, there was an acute shortage of oxygen, hospital beds, medicines, etc. Against this backdrop, the review meeting by the Prime Minister is welcome; it will send the message down the line that various departments will have to remain alert and active—indeed proactive. Hopefully, this will help people who are bracing for summer.