A De v e l op m e n t A n D e n v i ron m e n t m Ag A z i n e

`75

GeoGraphy and you.com

Vol. 14, Issue 83, March-aprIl 2014

Disasters
EmErging PErsPEctivEs
■ Changing Landscapes of Disasters in India

■ Disaster Preparedness, Gender and Vulnerable Coastal Communities

■ Chemical Industry Safety in India
THE UTTARAKHAND FLOODS OF JUNE 2013
Source: Annual Global Climate and
Deaths: 6748 Catastrophe Report: Impact
Forecasting- 2013, Aon Benfield
Losses: 1900 million USD
Insured: 585 million USD

Is It tIme for catastrophe Insurance yet?

 GeoGraphy and you
Vol. 14  Issue 83  March - aprIl 2014

People and vehicles wade through an inundated state road during the 2008 flooding of the Kosi.

Disasters: eMerGiNG perspectives

4 Changing Landscapes of 38 Disaster Preparedness,

Disasters in India Gender and Vulnerable Coastal
Janki Andharia and Prabhakar Jayaprakash Communities
10 Community Based Disaster Sulagna Chattopadhyay

Management 44 Dhanushkodi:
Angeli Qwatra and Nina Khanna A Disaster that Wiped out
16 Utilisation of Open Source India’s Geography
Geospatial Technologies for D Mitra

Disaster Preparedness
Vinod Kumar Sharma, G Srinivasa Rao and G’nY First report
V Bhanumurthy
50 The Tirumala Fire 53 india’s bee indusTry
20 Evaluating Catastrophe calls For aTTenTion 55 organic Farming in
Insurance Vidarbha 58 KarnaTaKa bans mahyco seeds
Alka Parikh

24 Chemical Industry Safety parliaMeNt watch

in India 60 sTaTus oF disasTer managemenT
Muzaffar Ahmad and Amit Tuteja in india

30 Liquefaction of Soil During

Earthquakes
Pijush Samui
In BrIef
34 Mainstreaming CSR in 2 Editor’s note 3 Letters 14 Science and disaster mitigation
Disaster Risk Reduction 15 Term power 29 Term power rating 48 Disasters in the
Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya year that was

GeoGraphy and you  March - april 2014  1

Editor’s note
Vulnerability is a part of life, and this acceptance runs deep amongst the poverty ridden population of India.
Dear Readers
In January this year, a score of letters, faxes and
emails were sent out from our office requesting
for success stories. Destination—state disaster
management authorities—every single one of
them. And guess what, even after confirming
every communication, not one of them deigned
it fit to contribute one. Two thoughts – perhaps
there weren’t any successful programmes in
the states, or they couldn’t care less. You see,
disaster management is all about high profile
management, with the prime minister at the
national level and chief ministers at the state level,
but in reality it holds a low profile in the priority
list. Life is cheap in India—a couple more here or
there, how does it matter—it is all ‘god’s wish’.
The pivotal organisation of India, the much
muscled National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA), holds an abysmally low sense
of responsibility. Adhoc-ism is the key. What
could be more astounding that a sitting MLA
2  March - april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
belonging to a far out southern state is ordained a
full time vice chairman, only next to the country’s
prime minister; not to mention all the associated
pomp, the poor gentleman is torn between the
duties of his state and that of NDMA. Do we have
no experts in this multi-crore nation who could
lend more than partial support to steer the helm
of disaster mitigation?
This G’nY issue is about those aspects of
disaster management that need a new focus,
such as disaster insurance, disaster and
corporate social responsibility, geoinfomatics,
disaster preparedness and more importantly
calls for 30 per cent reservation for women in
disaster relief forces.
Happy Reading
Sulagna Chattopadhyay
Photo. Vinod M. vkmphotos@gmail.com

GeoGraphy and you
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A De v e l op m e n t A n D e n v i ron m e n t m Ag A z i n e
The Jan-Feb 2014 - The work done in Vol 14, Issue 82,
Vol. 14, Issue 82, January-February 2014 `75
GeoGraphy and you.com
Jan-Feb 2014 G’nY is truly enlightening. The possibilities and
challenges at the ground level are well highlighted. You did miss
out that there are voluntary provisions regarding functionaries
and funds in Amendment 73 which results in failure of efficient
panchayats at the state level due to economic difficulties, but as
Women in the focus was on women, it was a well-rounded endeavour.
Panchayat
—HarikrisHnan D, Thiruvananthapuram.
■ Women panchayat leaders and micro finance
■ networking women in panchayat
■ a tale of two women
I teach the 6th and 7th grades. We will not only be closer to ground realities,
follow the Central Board of Secondary but would also offer a viable alternative to
Education syllabus. I was wondering if predominantly male dominated leadership
G’nY could be made more accessible to at the centre stage.
young children. I am especially interested —sarasWati raJu, New Delhi.
in GIS. If a small do-it-yourself section is
inserted, it may become more relevant for I have been a keen reader of G’nY.
young students. I request you to kindly work on an industry
—MoHana sHukla, New Delhi. special as there is little comprehensive
information on this sector. I have been
The ‘Women in Panchayat’ researching on iron and steel and cement
issue of G’nY was very relevant for India industry in India. I would appreciate if you
at this juncture. I think many programmes could showcase their development and
that the issue has highlighted need to highlight what India needs for the future.
be strengthened further. I am a strong —JasWant kuMar, New Delhi.
advocate of political reforms, and grass
root politics in India needs to change if we I visit your website on a daily basis.
are to have meaningful leadership. But, you have not come out with any
—upenDra Moral, Assam. information regarding the celebrations to
be held on Earth Day, 22nd April or the
Kudos for a great Panchayat issue! World Environment Day, 5th June. Kindly
Wonderful articles, keep up the good work. put our school on your list and provide us
—satyen prasaD, New Delhi. the free material that you have been giving
for the last few years through LIGHTS,
I have been involved with gender your not-for-profit sister concern.
studies for long now. Although emerging —rasHMi MeHra, Dehradun.
dimensions of women in political leadership
has not been my focus, it is well-known Reading your recent issue, I was
that at the national level there is a dearth reminded of an issue titled ‘Thus Ganga
of effective women leaders who hold Spoke’, one of the first G’nY issues. The
significant positions. One way to deal publication has come a long way, but it is
with it is to support a new crop of leaders missing the fun aspect of learning. Can you
who emerge from the grass roots. They remedy that? —prasHant, Patna.
Write Editorial Office: Geography and You, 1584, B-1, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070, Letters may be edited for clarity and length. Include
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CORRIGENDuM: The Kudumbashree programme was inadvertently misspelt as Kudumshree on pages 27 and 45 of G’nY, issue 82,
Women in Panchayat. The error is regretted.
GeoGraphy and you  March - april 2014  3
Disaster perspectives

The elephant corridor in Gudalur,

Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu.
Changing
Landscapes
of Disasters in India

With the global increase in frequency and intensity

of disasters, the need to address diverse challenges
in the field of disaster research and practice
requires a perspective beyond the current hazard-
centric one. The paper points to significance of
structural, social, and political processes that
define the relationship between communities,
ecosystems and technologies in disaster research.
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 5
Story and Photos Janki Andharia
and Prabhakar Jayaprakash
L
ocal risk landscapes are changing
fast, with frequent and intense
weather events, and societal and
environmental stresses which are
becoming increasingly uncertain
and unpredictable. As a result,
many current approaches have
only had a partial impact despite concerted efforts
at development interventions.
According to the Centre for Research on the
Epidemiology of Disasters, Belgium, which main-
tains a global database on disasters, the frequency
and intensity of disasters are on the rise. The Haiti
earthquake in 2010, the 2011 floods in Thailand,
hurricane Sandy in 2012, cyclone Haiyan in 2013 in
Philippines, Phailin in 2013 in Odisha, and the Ut-
tarakhand disaster in 2013, bring extreme weather
events in focus. The 2012 report of the Intergov-
ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
argues that extreme weather and climate events
interacting with exposed and vulnerable human
and natural systems can lead to disasters. Disas-
ters reflect the spatially diverse and temporally
dynamic patterns of exposure and vulnerability.
Settlement patterns, urbanization, and changes
in socio-economic conditions have all influenced
observed trends in exposure and vulnerability. For
example, coasts, small islands, mega-deltas, and
settlements on mountains are exposed and vul-
nerable to climate extremes in both developed and
developing countries, but with differences among
regions and countries (IPCC, 2012).
The United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) ‘Hygo frame-
work for action’, adopted in 2005 as a guiding
framework on disaster reduction for the period
2005-2015, aims at “substantial reduction of dis-
aster losses, in lives and in the social, economic
Number of disasters reported
and environmental assets of communities and
countries”. As a consequence of rising number
of disasters and the international attention they
receive, considerable policy work is seen in most
countries such as Bangladesh, Australia, and
South Africa and financial allocation for disaster
prevention and response is increasing. However
most of these funds are for engineering-based
mitigation measures such as construction of high
6 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
performance structures, sea walls or sea levees
and other infrastructure developments.
Environmental degradation, with deforesta-
tion, desertification, loss of wetlands for industrial
growth, or loss of biodiversity due to mining or
plantations, undermines people’s coping capaci-
ties and increases hazard potential. It is therefore
important to recognise that natural and social
systems are connected in disaster science, govern-
ment policies and disaster related interventions.
“By their very constitution, disasters spring from
the nexus where environment, technology and
society come together—the point where place,
people and human construction of both the mate-
rial and the non-material meet.” (A Oliver-Smith
and S. Hoffman, 1999, ‘Angry earth: Disaster in
anthropological perspective’, Routledge). The
study of disasters therefore requires a more nu-
anced approach, and the concept of vulnerability
has assumed considerable significance in disaster
discourse. It is a conceptual link that examines the
relationship between hazards, cultural practice,
the context of people’s lived experiences, disasters,
and development (J Andharia, 2009, ‘Vulnerabil-
ity in disaster discourse: A conceptual review’, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Working paper no. 8).
Vulnerability is a multilayered social and environ-
Natural disasters: 1975-2011
Globally, natural disasters claimed around
100,000 lives in each of the years of 2003, 2004,
2005, 2008 and 2010.
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year
Source: emdat.be/natural-disasters-trends
Landslide on the way to Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand.
mental space defined by the political, economic,
and institutional capabilities of people in specific
places and times. Hazard and vulnerability assess-
ment (HRVA) is increasingly being undertaken
from a regional and a geographic perspective. Al-
though scholars are conducting disaster risk and
vulnerability index based studies, their internali-
sation within policy framework remains weak in
countries like India.
Further, the Disaster Management Act 2005 in
India focuses mainly on catastrophes, mishaps,
and calamities. Unwittingly, disasters are viewed
as cataclysmic events. Much work remains to be
done on vulnerability to disasters—a reality that
confronts large sections of populations in India
who experience everyday risks and struggles,
which society accepts as ‘normal’. The disastrous
impact of policies, neglect of certain sections of
society or complacency of policy makers must
also be recognised by new researches which seek
to influence disaster discourse.
Silent and invisible disasters
In disaster management policies and risk reduc-
tion strategies, the significance of structural,
social, and political processes that define the re-
lationship between communities, ecosystems and
technologies are overlooked. This has resulted
in many communities experiencing what may
be labelled as silent or invisible disasters. While
droughts are acknowledged as slow onset disas-
ters, many communities suffer from impacts of
pollution or toxic wastes discharged mindlessly
in water bodies that irrigate fields or wells or the
air that people breathe causing ill-health and even
death. Slow arsenic poisoning and fluorosis, which
affects large populations who are forced to drink
contaminated water, rarely attract the attention
of disaster researchers. The Bhopal Gas tragedy
and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster are also cases
in point. Similarly, malnutrition is an endemic
condition for many women and children despite
national growth.
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 7
The Alu Kurumba of
the Kodamoola hamlet
in Gudalur have
lost their traditional
rights and are now
working as labourers
in what was once their
ancestral land.

8 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 Social discrimination, dispossession of tradi-
tional rights over ecosystems that communities
depended on for their survival, and the resultant
denial of access to resources—all constitute silent
disasters from the perspective of communities
experiencing them. For example, the Nicobari trib-
als of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands or the Alu
Kurumba tribe, one of the six ‘Particularly vulner-
able tribal groups’ (PVTGs) of Nilgiri district, in
Gudalur block find themselves struggling for their
basic entitlements in modern India. The cumula-
tive impact of past colonisation, deforestation,
lack of political determination to implement social
policies (such as the Janmam Estates Act, 1969, and
Forest Rights Act, 2006 in Gudalur) require disaster
researchers to pay attention to pre-existing social
vulnerabilities within a geographic area. Further,
the nature and form of development promoted by
national policies themselves create inequalities and
privilege certain sections over others.
Nilgiris is a reserve biosphere. The forest land
occupied by tea plantations constituted elephant
corridors. The forest census of 1972 recorded
eleven elephant paths in Gudalur and Mudumalai
forest division. A study conducted by the Ooty
Government College, 2009, cited in the newspaper
‘Dinamalar’, Ooty edition, 2012, highlighted that
only one exists because of the electric fences laid
by the plantations. In addition, the Alu Kurumba
tribe trapped inside these plantations have lost
their traditional rights and are now working as
labourers in what was once their ancestral land
(P Jayaprakash, 2013, ‘Events, Memories and
Archives: The land struggles of Betta Kurumbas of
Gudalur, Tamil Nadu, India’, M Phil Thesis, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences). About 80,000 acres of
forest land in Gudalur block were leased during the
British rule to the tea and coffee plantation owners
for 99 years. After Independence, the government
of Tamil Nadu failed to resolve the issue and about
52,000 acres of forest land remained under the
control of plantation owners and small and large
encroachers although their lease had expired.
A long-standing legal and political battle over
this forest land ensued and people’s livelihoods
dependent on wage work from plantations were
affected. Forest rights committees have not been
formed even nine years after the enactment of the
Forest Rights Act, 2005, and the Alu Kurumbas
remain voiceless and marginalised, and in fact are
threatened with eviction.
These conditions illustrate the dominant de-
velopment model promoted by the state which
is “strategic and tactical in promoting, licensing,
and justifying certain interventions and practices,
delegitimising and excluding others” (J Crush, ed.,
1995, ‘Power of development’, Routledge). Vulner-
able sections of society, such as tribals, dalits,
women, children and others, who experience such
silent disasters, rarely receive the attention of dis-
aster researchers or policy makers who typically
engage with a ‘disaster focus’, chasing high impact
hazard events because of their visibility and avoid
examining historical conditions that produce dis-
aster vulnerability through processes of systemic
marginalisation.
endnote
Besides the conventional approach to studying
rocks, solids and fault-lines for earthquakes,
and tracking weather patterns and conditions,
there are multiple spaces in disaster study for
research, action and practice. There is a need to
move disaster discourse forward by emphasis-
ing on structural and socio-political processes,
acknowledging and acting on differences between
geographies of physical terrains and of cultures,
and looking beyond the imposition of a technical-
reductionist framework.
Interestingly, the World Disasters Report pub-
lished by the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Geneva rightly
focuses on significant areas such as public health
(2000), urban risk (2010), malnutrition (2011),
forced migration—people forcibly displaced by
conflict, political upheaval, violence, disasters,
climate change and development projects, whose
numbers are increasing inexorably each year
(2012). These diverse themes help to provide global
attention to significant areas of disaster research
and practice. Disaster research requires integrat-
ing different knowledge types and experiences to
generate scientifically reliable, context-appropriate
and socially robust risk reduction activities.
The authors are Professor and research scholar at the
Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. andharia@tiss.edu
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 9
Disaster perspectives

Community
Based
disaster
management
Story angeli Qwatra and nina Khanna

If the capacity of a community to face the perceived disasters is

developed before the specialised responders arrive, many lives
could be easily saved and infrastructural losses minimised.

C
ommunity is the first responder in
natural as well as human induced
disasters. The initial hours after a
disaster, especially the first ‘golden
hour’, are very crucial. Hence there
is a need to build the capacity of the community
which can be especially difficult in developing
countries like India where education levels are
low, people are poor and the community has more
pressing priorities like eking out a living. It is thus
a challenge for the authorities and concerned
organisations to mobilise the community consist-
ing of diverse individuals and groups.
cBdM approach: Community based disaster
management (CBDM) is a bottom-up approach

10 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you


Photo courtesy: Press Information Bureau, Bihar September 2008
CBDM empowers the community to be
proactive in disaster management and creates
space for them to develop strategies.
which is universally accepted as a tool to prepare
communities for disasters. There are numerous
examples of successful CBDM in countries like
Peru, Bangladesh and Philippines. The capacity
of a community is built in the CBDM approach to
assess its vulnerability and develop strategies and
resources necessary to prevent and mitigate the
impact of identified disasters as well as respond,
rehabilitate and reconstruct in the post-disaster
period. This approach has become crucial due to
the effects of global climate change, burgeoning
population moving into more vulnerable regions
and a heightened recognition of a need for greater
linkages between top down government and
community level responses. CBDM empowers
the community to be proactive in disaster man-
agement and creates a space for them to develop
strategies on their own terms rather than waiting
for already over stretched government machinery
to hold their hands.
cBdM in india: The Disaster Management Act
2005 was responsible for setting up the disaster
management framework at the centre, state,
district and local levels and envisaging a compre-
hensive and multi-hazard preparedness approach
to deal with disasters. Core emphasis was given
to developing the capacity of communities. Even
the national vision, as outlined in the National
Disaster Management Policy issued by the Minis-
try of Home Affairs in 2009, envisaging “to build
a safe and disaster resilient India by developing a
holistic, proactive, multi-disaster and technology-
driven strategy through a culture of prevention,
mitigation, preparedness and efficient response,
involving all stakeholders, especially the com-
munity”, lays stress on building the capacity of
the community. The national strategy envisages a
multi-dimensional approach focusing on preven-
tion, mitigation, preparedness (capacity building
of National Disaster Response Force, state disaster
response force, civil defence, National Cadet
Corps, Nehru Yuva Kendras, etc) and CBDM
(including public awareness, mock exercises, etc.)
during the pre-disaster phase. The post disaster
phase is characterised by proactive, prompt and
efficient response; and the building back is better
in reconstruction and recovery phases of disaster.
‘Building Back Better’, propagated by the World
Bank, is a universally accepted norm of disaster
management. The reconstruction in the Nagapat-
tinam district in Tamil Nadu, which was worst
affected during Indian Ocean 2004 tsunami, is
a good example of this strategy. Concrete dwell-
ings were provided about one km away from the
sea, improving their standard of living and also
protecting them from future disasters, while the
fishermen were given fibre glass boats during the
rehabilitation phase which increased their catch
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 11
by almost three times.
CBDM has been modified to CBDRM in India,
where ‘R’ is ‘risk’—to include working with the
community in vulnerable areas to mitigate risks.
Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs),
such as the Bharatiya Agro Industries Founda-
tion (BAIF) Development Research Foundation
are working in drought prone areas in Rajasthan
in a community preparedness development pro-
gramme. International NGOs are collaborating
with local NGOs—for example Save the Children is
working with local NGOs to carry out child centric
drought preparedness programmes in Rajasthan.
Such programmes are being implemented in other
states too, viz., Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil
Nadu, to name a few, through Governmental and
NGO mechanisms. Micro insurance and micro fi-
nance at the community level have recently begun
in India. A pilot project was conducted through the
collaborative effort of Concern Worldwide India,
All India Disaster Mitigation Institute, Ahmeda-
bad and ‘SWAD Poor’.
In Ambassa district of Tripura, the villages have
made their disaster management teams (rescue,
first aid, security, warning, etc). Make-shift relief
camps with tents made of bamboos are in place
and a warning call, the responsibility of a group of
women, is sounded during and after an earthquake
drill or actual earthquake. Motorcyclists, cyclists
and three wheelers within the village have been
identified to transport disaster victims to the clos-
est hospital. These procedures were initiated by the
gram panchayat with the assistance of the National
Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi.
The National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA) has drawn up guidelines for CBDRM
which are likely to be released in May 2014. The
Authority has also taken the initiative of build-

International
initiatives in disaster
risk reduction
strategies
The UN Assembly Resolution of December
1989 declared 1990 to 2000 as the
United Nations International Decade for
Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR),
which resulted in a paradigm shift in the
approach to disaster management from
relief and rehabilitation to prevention,
mitigation and preparedness, with core
emphasis on developing the coping
capacity of the community. The World
Conference at Yokohama in 1994
identified the need and ways of building
the resilience of nations and communities
and adopted the strategy and framework
for plan of action for a safer world. This
provided landmark guidance on reducing
disaster risks and the impact of disasters.
In 1999, a UN Assembly Resolution
adopted the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and created
the Secretariat of the UNISDR in Geneva.
In 2003 and 2004, UNISDR conducted a
review of the Yokohama Declaration. This
review formed the basis for the ‘Hyogo
framework for action (HFA) 2005-2015:
Building the resilience of nations and
communities to disasters’ which was
adopted by World Conference on Disaster
Reduction held in 2005, and subsequently
endorsed by the UN General Assembly.
The HFA envisaged integration of
disaster risk reduction into policies,
plans and programmes of sustainable
development and poverty reduction.
Member states, regional organisations,
UN systems, financial institutions and
NGOs were expected to engage fully in
supporting and implementing international
strategy for disaster reduction and
cooperate to advance integrated
approaches to building disaster resilient
nations and communities under this
framework. The focus was to be on national
implementation, through bi-lateral,
regional and international cooperation.
So far, 86 countries including India have
reported development of a national policy
and legislation on disaster management.
Priorities for action declared by the
UN include political commitment and
institutional framework for management
of disasters at various levels; risk
identification, assessment, monitoring
and early warning; sharing knowledge
on disaster management; reduction of
underlying risk factors (environment,
social development and land use) and
disaster preparedness and prompt
response at all levels.
Bangladesh: CARE-Bangladesh has
implemented the Bangladesh Urban
Disaster Mitigation Project (BUDMP) since
July 2000. BUDMP has been emphasising
the importance of awareness generation
among community groups and other
sectors by placing CBDM on the political
agenda. The national preparedness day is
celebrated on March 29 every year.
Philippines: The Philippines disaster
management forum emerged from the
reflection workshops on CBDM in 2002.
It was conducted by organisations and
individuals who were implementing,
supporting and advocating CBDM.
Citizens Disaster Response Center
Network (CDRN): It is recognised as
the key organisation which has been
implementing CBDM since 1984. While
working together with communities,
CDRN has developed strategies to
enhance the capacity of the community
by forming village level disaster response
communities, developing local early
warning systems, organising rescue
teams and diversifying local sources of
livelihood.

12 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

The community can be trained to prepare for disasters through mock exercises, which involve them
from the planning of preparedness stage to the enactment of disaster situations.
ing the capacity of the community and the first
responders in areas which fall in seismic zone IV
and V for earthquakes. Capacity development
programmes (CDPs) for earthquake disaster
were conducted in all 11 districts of Delhi, (from
2011 to 2012), in 49 districts of Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh and UT of Chandigarh, (from
2012 to 2013), in all three districts of Andaman and
Nicobar Islands (2013) and in 94 districts of all the
eight states of northeast India (from 2013 to early
2014). In order to check the impact of CDPs and the
state of preparedness of the community and first
responders, review mock exercises were conducted
with independent observers for third party audit,
on specific days during the training programme.
Special sessions were also organised for the judi-
ciary and officials at the district, High Court and
at the Supreme Court level. The multi district and
multi state mock exercises have been very fruitful
in sensitisation of the community and bringing out
a number of gaps in preparedness, resources, com-
munications, equipment and systems.
NDMA claims to have conducted more than 600
mock exercises so far, sensitising over 3.5 million
people. Ten battalions of the National Disaster Re-
sponse Force have demarcated geographical areas
where they carry out awareness programmes and
training of the community, NGOs and govern-
ment officials during the non-disaster period.
endnote: The common purpose of all CBDM
programmes is to reduce disaster risk of the
community. The main understanding behind all
such activities should be to find ways and means
to mitigate the impact of disasters through the
participation and involvement of communities.
Imparting skills and effecting change in attitude of
members of the community are the key to success
of the CBDM approach. We cannot prevent dis-
asters from happening but we can surely attempt
to reduce their impact on the lives, livelihood and
environment by building the capacity of the com-
munity through CBDM approach.
The authors are founder Chairperson, Philanthrope and
research scholar, Manav Rachna International University,
Faridabad, respectively. info@philanthrope.in
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 13
Disaster perspectives

Science and
disaster mitigation
The Uttarakhand disaster exposed
the gap that exists between science
and disaster decision making.
Scientific alerts had little impact on
the governmental mechanisms.
On the other hand that very divide,
once bridged, led to a successful
evacuation operation in the case of
cyclone Phailin. It is thus important to
study the linkages between science
and disaster reduction, analysing the
barriers that prevent more effective
use of science to suggest how the gap
between science and decision making
may be narrowed. It is true that decision
makers remain largely unaware of
scientific analyses. But, with so many
overlaps in monsoon and other climate
related studies, scientists in India jostle
amongst themselves for a place under
the sun, making it all the more difficult
for the scientifically challenged policy
makers to take relevant decisions.
Moreover, political decisions, inevitably
extends beyond issues of science.
As a result, scientific assessments of
risk and disasters are often not used.
But, if the traditional linear process of
interpretation is challenged and the
concept of outreach ingrained amongst
the scientific community the barrier
may be broken. Science can then enter
the domain of the decision maker and
disaster mitigation can be bettered,
based on a feedback matrix of various
stakeholders.

Doppler radar

14 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 Term Power
India witnesses a multitude of disaster events on a recurrent
basis–earthquakes, floods, cyclones, fires, droughts, hailstorms,
and even volcanic activity. Test your knowledge of the various
phenomena and see how you fare. Answers on page 29.

1. AvAlAnche 2. MAngo 3. nor’ westers

a. Flow of liquid mud and
rocks down a hill.
b. Flow of boulders into a
river in the valley of a
steep region.
c. Flow of soft snow and
rocks down
a hill or
mountainside.
shower
a. Pre-monsoon showers
primarily in the southern
part of India.
b. Showers in north India
that cause the loss of
mangoes prior to ripening.
c. Showers that arrive
immediately after the
mango season.
a. A cyclone approaching
from the northwest.
b. Dry winds blowing from
the northwest which affect
Punjab and Rajasthan.
c. Local thunderstorm
which occurs in
Bengal, Odisha and
Bangladesh.

4. lAndfAll 5. epicentre 6. el nino

a. Collapse of a hill side
due to an earthquake and
consequent mud fan in
the valley.
b. The intersection of
the surface centre of a
tropical cyclone with a
coastline.
c. Formation of a fissure
in an under sea trench.
a. Point on earth’s a. A cyclonic circulation
surface vertically that forms during northern
above the source of an winters.
earthquake. b. Unusually warm ocean
b. The source of tsunami temperatures that
that causes tidal waves affect sea catch.
near the coast. c. Hurricanes
c. Opposite side of the that affect the
focus and the source of north and south
both S and P waves. American coasts.

7. fire line 8. tele-tsunAMi 9. soil lique-

a. Strip or trench of
land free of combustible
material.
b. End of area under fire
- relevant for the armed
forces.
c. A line formed by a
cooling material on a
burning surface.
a. A tsunami generated
from a source more than
1000 km away.
b. A televised tsunami
event.
c. A tsunami that hits
an island nation with
recurring regularity.
fAction
a. Transformation of granular
material from a solid to a
liquefied state.
b. Melting of granular
particles at high temperatures.
c. Compaction of granules in
sub-surface liquids.

Answers on pAge 29 ❯❯

GeoGraphy and you  January - February 2014  15

Disaster perspectives

Areas inundated by Cyclone

Phailin in parts of Balasore and
Source: Satellite image from resourcesat-2 LISS III
data of Oct 16, 2013. Bhadrak districts, Odisha.

16  March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 Utilisation of
open soUrce Geospati a l
technoloGies for

Disaster
prepa reDness
V inoD K Um a r sh a rm a ,
G sr ini Va s a r a o & V Bh a nUmUr t h y

Being prepared for disasters before they strike entails ensuring that the rescue teams
have the necessary equipment, know where to take people from the affected area and,
most importantly, how to keep themselves safe so that the rescue operation continues.
By implementing geospatial techniques, emergency preparedness and response phase
operations can be customised, and ready to use scenarios can be created to provide
information on how to alert, prepare and train volunteers for emergencies.

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014  17

E
ach state in India has its disaster prepar-
edness plan and as per the new guidelines
of the National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA) even districts have
preparedness plans along the lines of state plans.
Cyclone Phailin has shown that if local or central
agencies are prepared for a disaster before it
strikes, loss of life can be drastically minimised.
As the preparedness plan has to be executed on the
ground, accurate and current information about
the terrain is of great importance; for this local
surveys need to be conducted to collect ground
data, shelter information and much more. As in
the case of a flood, people in low lying areas have to
be shifted to shelters/hospitals; capacity of shelters,
availability of beds and number of hospitals have
to be verified on the ground. An exercise utilising
geo-informatic technologies (smart phones with
GPS/online maps) for database creation of shel-
ters and hospitals has been demonstrated in Puri
district of Odisha in 2009 and in Assam in 2010,
and transferred to other states for verification and
collection of emergency databases. The local data
thus gathered can be organised in a format that
can be used in emergency situations and geospatial
techniques can be effectively used for efficient
organisation and usage of the collected data.
Here are some steps which should be followed
when a disaster warning is issued. First and fore-
most, plans have to be well defined, and people
have to be trained for handling emergency situa-
tions. The lack of preparedness, which includes the
unavailability of a database of emergency facilities,
roads etc., may result in thousands of lives lost as
seen during the Haiti earthquake, 2010, when the
hospital and relief shelter database available for
managing the rescue and relief operations was lim-
ited. Disaster management plans, geospatial tools
and techniques like automatic feature extraction
using data mining integrated with latest technolo-
gies like smart phones, live feed (traffic density
and road conditions) are used extensively across
the globe to prepare emergency databases. Smart
phones with in-built global positioning system
(GPS) and camera are widely used for emergency
database generation. Local users and volunteers
can tag facilities like hospitals, warehouse, relief
shelters with facility details, medical equipment
and tests available, ambulances on call, contact
numbers etc. A detailed emergency database can
be generated for each area in this manner to create
a relief and rehabilitation matrix.
18  March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
Geographical data is essential for disaster
preparedness; different techniques like ground
surveys, aerial surveys, terrestrial maps etc., are
available for collecting, studying and analysing
this data. Remote sensing datasets can gather
maximum information about the ground in a sin-
gle take. In addition, temporal datasets of the same
area can find the differences in development. Vari-
ous algorithms with geospatial techniques can
predict the usage of the land, which can be verified
by ground surveys.
Various open source geospatial technologies are
the best option for the development of this infor-
mation system. The huge emergency data can be
organised using the powerful object-relational
database system like PostgreSQL, which is ef-
ficient in handling spatial as well as non-spatial
data. Complex spatial queries, like optimal path
generation, needed in rescue plans, can be imple-
mented using it. A user friendly graphical user
interface, query builder can be developed using
open source web technologies like PHP, JQuery,
Ajax etc. The developed information system can
be hosted on open source servers like Apache.
For publishing the huge raster/vector datasets
as service, UMN mapserver or geoserver can be
used. These web map services (WMS) can be used
in the web environment using open source map
application programming interface (API) like
Openlayers and Bhuvan API.
Taking these benefits into account, the open
source community has integrated all these tech-
nologies and provided a complete solution to
address disaster emergency situations. The Na-
tional Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), a part of
Fig. 1: Representation of a district disaster
management information system
 A De v e l opm e n t A n D
e n v i ron m e n t m AgA z i n e
the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
has initiated the District Disaster Management
Plan Information System (DDMPIS) by cus-
tomising and integrating different open source
technologies under the National Database for
Emergency Management (NDEM) programme.
Sample datasets of Odisha are used to show the
capabilities of DDMPIS (Fig 1). This system is de-
signed to organise the essential database (spatial/ geographyandyou.com
non spatial) of a district and provides a solution
to disaster management authorities to reduce the
impact of a disaster. It has modules to track the
needs of populations affected by disasters, and it
can also be used for coordinating the responding
DON’T BELIEVE IN
agencies and their resources.
As different agencies and organisations are in-
volved in disaster management, collaboration and
SUBSCRIBING?
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operations. Keeping this in mind a software data A DEVELOPM ENT AND ENVIRONM ENT M AGAZINE A De v e l op m e n t A n D e n v i ron m e n t m Ag A z i n e

VOL. 13, ISSUE 77, MARCH - APRIL 2013

Vol. 14, Issue 82, January-February 2014 `75

GEOGRAPHY and YOU.com
Rs 60

GeoGraphy and you.com

submission module is customised which allows or-
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with information about their location, skills etc.

This module helps the managers ensure that eve-
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GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014  19
Disaster perspectives

Evaluating
Catastrophe
Insurance
20 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

The utility of disaster insurance, a
relatively new concept for India, is
still being debated. This insurance
would perhaps be useful only if
a foundation is laid for a social
and physical disaster mitigation
infrastructure.
Story Alka Parikh
D
isaster plans, which are integrated
into regular development plans, are
now drawn by each state in India
and steps are taken to make changes
in infrastructure, administration,
communication devices, emergency services, etc.,
to mitigate the losses caused by disasters.
Currently, two types of funds are in place: the
Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) and the National
Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). They provide
for only immediate relief to the victims of natu-
ral calamities. The expenditure on restoration of
infrastructure is required to be met from the plan
funds of the respective states. Since 1990, each
state has a CRF based on the recommendations of
the Ninth Finance Commission. Contributions by
the central government and state government are
in the ratio 3:1 under the CRF. This decentralisa-
tion gave much needed autonomy to the states
to assess their need for disaster relief. The CRF
amount was based on the average expenditures
made by the state in previous years. If the CRF is
insufficient for a state confronted with a disaster, it
may request the use of NDRF, which gets its funds
from the National Calamity Contingency Fund.
The initial corpus of Rs 500 crore is provided by
the central government and additional amount as
required for their disaster comes from levy of spe-
cial surcharges on the central government taxes.
In this way, the government ensures that it does
not fall short of funds when a disaster occurs—the
fund can be replenished by levying surcharges.
The Prime Minister’s Relief Fund is also available
for disaster situations.
Until 1990, states were required to apply for
central aid in the event of a disaster; a visit by the
central team to the affected area determined the
amount of aid. There was, and even today is, a
large difference between the amounts requested
by the states and the amounts delivered by the
centre—the amount being awarded depending
on the capacity of the state to convince the cen-
tre. For example, Assam requested for central
aid of Rs 12,000 crore in 2012, while the package
announced by the Center was Rs 500 crore (Eco-
nomic Times, July 10, 2012); the additions to this
package however, are not known.
catastrophe insurance
A large proportion of India’s population is poor,
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 21
implying high disaster vulnerability. Therefore,
for the Indian government, disaster management
is a humanitarian rather than a financial issue. It
is also understood that Indian citizens will come
together to support victims; it would be perceived
as their duty towards the nation. Raising money
through levying of surcharges for the victims of
disaster would not be a complex task. There would
be national consensus on providing relief and lit-
tle resistance to levy of surcharges. The corporate
sector and citizens are also expected to respond to
the appeal for donations to the Prime Minister’s
Relief Fund. This amounts to little interest in the
national policy-making circles in developing a
financial instrument to raise money. It is felt that
funds can be raised as and when required, through
various fiscal instruments that the government
has at its disposal. The private corporate and
citizens are also expected to respond to the appeal
for donations. In such a scenario, the government
has not felt the need to evolve new financial instru-
ments. Also, states in India are used to seeking
help from the Central government whenever a
disaster occurs. It might not be easy to change that
attitude. Additionally, the mechanism of CRF is
well in place now, effectively reducing the need for
urgent funds.
The states of India or the Panchayati Raj Institu-
tions cannot be attracted into buying catastrophe
insurance. As most of the local bodies have very
limited funds, it would be difficult for them to pay
the premiums, primarily because the premium
rates for catastrophe insurance in disaster prone
regions would be quite high.
After the Mumbai floods in 2005, the General
Insurance Corporation alone had settled claims
worth Rs 650 crore. Post the World Trade Center
attack, India created its catastrophe insurance
mechanism for terrorist damage. Taj and Oberoi
Hotels received the first disbursements from this
catastrophe insurance mechanism after the 2008
Mumbai attacks. The exact amount of dispersal
is not known but it is reported that insurance
companies significantly raised their premium for
terrorist cover after that.
There are hardly any insurance firms that offer
catastrophe insurance in India, and at present it is
merged into life or general insurance. The problem
is, it is not a common practice to include natural
disasters as part of the acceptable causes for dam-
22 March-April 2014  Geography and You
age. Thus the insurance companies also need to
design a suitable insurance product for India.
An attempt was made by the All India Disaster
Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) in this direction.
With support from two public sector insurance
companies, AIDMI distributed Afat Vimo (Gu-
jarati for disaster insurance) which covers five
risks: life, trade stock, livelihood assets, house and
house contents of the policy holder. The scheme
covers damage or losses through 19 types of disas-
ters including earthquake, fire, cyclone, landslides
and lightening strikes. About 7200 policies have
been sold till now in earthquake affected areas
of Gujarat and Kashmir and in tsunami affected
areas of Tamil Nadu. However, renewal rates
of these policies are not clear. The general track
record of renewal rates of most insurance policies
has been poor in India. Also, no claim settlement
has been done till now because none of these areas
have been affected by such major disasters since.
Thus the utility for the buyers and the viability of
operating the insurance for the sellers are yet to
be tested.
Insuring families
The need for insurance has been felt more for
private property than by states. For example, the
compensation given by the government does
not go beyond Rs 1 lakh for the construction of
a house. Equipment damages are seldom met
by government assistance. High risk areas that
experience a flood every year receive very little
assistance because they are low impact disasters.
Insurance can be of help in such circumstances.
Health is the other priority concern. Injuries
caused by disasters are treated free of charge by
government hospitals. Citizens can also be treated
for free, up to a certain cost, if they are covered
by medical insurance. However, the cost of post-
operative care is not covered by any mechanism
and the compensation given by government for
injuries is too meagre to cover such costs. The loss
of income due to injuries or the permanent loss
of income due to disabilities is also not covered
under any insurance instrument yet.
Unless the insurance company spreads its risk
cover over many geographical regions, it will
be difficult for it to meet claims. It would either
become bankrupt or increase the premiums
considerably, creating a cycle where either the
insurer or the insured would suffer losses. When
an insurance company feels that it has assumed
too much risk, it can pay a premium and procure
insurance from a bigger company that can pay a
large amount in case the event occurs. It is a means
of sharing or spreading the risk by the insurance
company. Reinsurance mechanisms thus would
have to be strategically used to meet with such
situations. However, most reinsurance policies
compensate the insurer for part losses that exceed
a certain amount. The maximum covered amount
is also determined. Again, this would either prove
to be an expensive option for the insurer or it
would be ineffective in saving them from incur-
ring huge losses.
If the supply of insurance is hindered, the
demand for catastrophe insurance is likely to be
affected. It has been a major challenge in India
to convince people to buy insurance of any kind.
Even if people do buy insurance, they pay the
premiums just once. Under such circumstances,
it would become especially difficult to convince
people to buy insurance against disasters that are
considered a ‘once in 100 years’ phenomenon.
There is little demand for disaster insurance
even in nations which have very well developed
insurance markets. F Michale and V Bruggman’s
2013 paper ‘Catastrophic risks and first party
insurance’ from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Inter-
nationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German
Society for International Cooperation, reveals
that the demand for catastrophe insurance was
found to be as low as 15-50 per cent in Germany
and USA. Therefore doubts remain about the
viability of offering market based catastrophe
insurance provided by the private firms at market
rates without any subsidies. The authors observed
that even though there is evidence of limited inter-
est in catastrophe insurance, there are cases where
insurance purchase increased after experiencing
a disaster, as was the case after the Florida floods
caused by storm Debby in 2012. The authors also
note that as the memory of the disaster faded, the
policies were cancelled, as was seen after the 1994
California earthquake.
It has been suggested that if people prefer insur-
ance against events with high probability and low
losses, they would accept insurance against low
probability catastrophes if this insurance is sold
for extra cost added to insurance against highly
If the supply of insurance is
hindered, the demand for
catastrophe insurance is
likely to be affected. It has
been a major challenge in
India to convince people to
buy insurance of any kind.
probable events (A Fares and E Abou-Bakr, 2012,
‘Economics of insurance against natural catas-
trophes: Overburdened arab insurers’, article in
Review of Economics and Finance).This seems to
be a viable option.
conclusion
The provision of catastrophe insurance would
be useful only after a strong foundation is laid
for social and physical disaster mitigation infra-
structure. That said, the case for introducing
catastrophe insurance for families is convincing.
A new catastrophe insurance product needs to
be devised that combines catastrophe insurance
with other products to make it more acceptable
and attractive for the buyer. It can be distributed
by NGOs which can educate people about the
product. The National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (NABARD), the apex bank
for agriculture and rural development in India,
could be roped in to support disaster insurance
to help financial institutions pool risks. The
government could be involved to pay or subsidise
premiums to make it affordable for the poor. There
is a need to develop index based insurances which
give out the claims if the event exceeds some limit
of the index; for example, drought is declared only
if the region has rain deficiency of more than 50
per cent. Or else, there is a need to develop other
suitable insurance products for high probability
low impact disasters.
The author is Associate Professor at the Dhirubhai Ambani
Institute of Information and Communication Technology,
Gandhinagar, Gujarat. alka_parikh@daiict.ac.in
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 23
Disaster perspectives

Chemical
Industry Safety
in India

Photo: Chemical plant at night

24 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 Only in the last decade, 130 significant chemical accidents have been

reported in India, which resulted in 259 deaths and 563 major injuries.

Safety measures are thus required to be addressed by all stakeholders, in a

sustained manner, for the prevention of chemical accidents.

Story Muzaffar Ahmad and Amit Tuteja

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 25

C
hemical industries are process
industries, primarily engaged
in converting raw material into
intermediates or end products by
physical or chemical means. Proc-
ess activities consist of manufacturing, storage,
handling and transportation of hazardous chemi-
cals in bulk or packaged condition to the final
consumers. As the chemical industry has grown
in size and complexity, there have been increases
in hazards to which the laboratory personnel,
industrial workers, nearby residents and the sur-
rounding environment (including livestock, flora
and fauna) are exposed directly or indirectly. The
risk is sometimes further compounded by unsafe
handling of plant operations at the chemical units,
as these units are generally not ready to handle
extreme conditions. There might be typical
adverse effects in the form of chemical explosions
or industrial fires which can cause injuries and
loss of lives apart from large scale destruction.
Hazardous (harmful) substances released into
water or air may travel long distances and con-
taminate soil, crops and livestock, making the
affected area uninhabitable for humans. Further,
ecological systems may be disrupted resulting in
deep-rooted environmental imbalance.
Chemical Disaster Risk in India
India has witnessed the world’s worst chemical
(industrial) disaster—the Bhopal Gas Tragedy
in 1984, where thousands of people died due to
accidental release of the toxic Methyl IsoCyanate
(MIC) gas. India continued to witness a series of
chemical accidents after Bhopal, demonstrat-
ing the vulnerability of the country. Four major
chemical incidents that took place during the
last 25 years—explosion in IPCL Gas Cracker
Complex at Nagothane in Maharashtra (1990);
explosion at HPCL refinery at Vishakhapatnam
(1997); gas cylinder burst in Mumbai (2001) and
IOCL Fire Tragedy of Jaipur (October 2009). Only
in the last decade, 130 significant chemical acci-
dents have been reported in India, which resulted
in 259 deaths and 563 major injuries.
Major Risk Prone Units in India
There are about 1861 major accident hazard
(MAH) units, spread across 301 districts (Fig
1) in all zones of the country. Apart from these,
26 March-April 2014  Geography and You
other small and medium sized industries and new
industries are being established at a rapid rate.
Chemical accidents can occur at any time due
to the lack of safety measures, technical break-
down, nature-induced effects or due to human
error. These disasters are low in frequency but are
very significant in terms of loss of lives, injuries,
environmental impact and property damage.
This phenomenon manifests into immediate and
residual or long term consequences. The irony is
that despite the Bhopal disaster, and innumerable
gas leaks, fires, explosions and accidents reported
over the years, including Jaipur Oil depot (IOC)
fire, Bombay Port Trust chlorine leak, Sivakasi ex-
plosion, and recent Surat IOC fire (January 2013),
the accidents have not adequately abated even after
the notification of applicable Acts, leaving India’s
communities vulnerable. Moreover, people are not
sufficiently aware of the risks they are living with.
Chemical Industrial Safety Measures for
Prevention of Accidents
Though a modest beginning has already been
made towards chemical disaster management
(CDM) in India in the form of regulatory frame-
work and guidelines, adequate safety of chemical
plants, associated workers and the surrounding
community still has a long way to go. Looking at the
current CDM scenario in the country, it is clearly
observed that chemical accidents can be avoided
up to some extent by adopting sound chemical
safety measures by key stakeholders.
Chemical units: The prime focus of chemical
units should be on overall risk management.
The AS/NZS ISO 31000: 2009 Risk Management
Principles and Guidelines are being globally used
in industrial units for overall risk management.
Chemical units should classify all the activities to
establish context, stage-wise from beginning till
the end (process design to delivery stage) and then
start identifying potential hazards that exist in
these activities or sub activities, in order to under-
stand what problems can happen and how. After
risk identification, the process of risk assessment
should take place in two parts. First, risk analysis
needs to be carried out on the basis of likelihood
of activities and the probable consequences. After
that, risks should be estimated through evaluation,
and prioritised in sequence. Next, the risks should
be addressed by developing action plans. Against
 Fig. 1: State wise major
risk prone units
India has about 1861 major accident
Jammu & Kashmir hazard units, spread across 301 districts
in all zones of the country.

Himachal Pradesh

Punjab
Uttarakhand

Haryana Arunachal
Delhi Pradesh
Sikkim

Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Assam Nagaland

Bihar
Manipur
Meghalaya
Jharkhand Tripura
Gujarat Mizoram
Madhya Pradesh West Bengal

Chhattisgarh

Odisha
The Indian chemical Maharashtra
industry, estimated
to be about INR
No. of Major Accidents Hazard Units
600,000 crores (USD Andhra Pradesh
108 billion) in 2011- 250 to 537
12, comprises of Goa
100 to 250
approximately 2 per Karnataka
50 to 100
cent of India’s GDP.
Share of the industry 25 to 50
in national exports 10 to 25
Kerala Tamil Nadu
is around 9.2 per
0 to 10
cent—Department
of Chemicals and Multi-hazard district

Petrochemicals, GoI.
Source: Map abstracted from ‘Industrial sitting in multi-hazard environment: Application
Map not to scale of GIS and MIS’, MoEF, June 2010.

each action plan, responsibilities and target dates
should be assigned so that all potential risks can
be tracked and addressed in a phased manner. The
entire process should be monitored and reviewed
periodically by the management, taking all the
concerned people into the loop through com-
munication and consultation. As part of process
safety management, the units should have stand-
ard operating procedures (SOPs), which need to
be adhered to during processes. The workers, in
particular, should be well informed.
For safe transport of hazardous chemicals
(HAZCHEMs), MAH units are recommended
to follow certain procedures prescribed under
National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA) guidelines. These guidelines cover spe-
cific technical instructions for safe transportation
of HAZCHEMs via rail, road, air, marine or
pipelines etc. It must be ensured that small and
medium enterprises dealing with hazardous
materials, generally located in the periphery of
urban cities, should not exceed the safety limit
of buffer stock of hazardous chemicals. Safety
culture amongst employees and workers must be
developed by conducting refresher trainings. In
addition, safety audits and periodic checks must be
ensured through credible agencies, to monitor im-
plementation of plant safety initiatives at the site.
The unit owners and corporate should be
encouraged to undertake corporate social respon-
sibility and responsible care, to invest in disaster
prevention and awareness at the community level.
Responsible care framework promotes codes of
practice on process safety, pollution prevention,

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 27

Fig 2. Risk management process overview
Establish the context
Communicate and consult
Identify risks
Monitor and review
Analyse risks
Evaluate risks
Assess risks
Treat risks
employees’ health and safety, and community
awareness for emergencies.
Government’s role: It is the responsibility of the
government to develop a legal framework for
institutionalisation of CDM and to govern the
entire process. A number of regulations already
exist in India for the organised sector, in the form
of various Acts such as Environment Protection
Act 1986, Factories Act 1948, Explosives Act 1884,
Public Liability Insurance Act 1991, Disaster Man-
agement Act 2005 etc., and allied rules primarily
including Manufacture, Storage and Import of
Hazardous Chemical (MSIHC) 1989, Emergency
Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR)
1996 etc; however, the key is implementation at
the ground. Further, implementation of NDMA
Guidelines on CDM and a national policy on
safety, health and environment at the units is
also important.
Institutional safety mechanism for the unorgan-
ised sector: On occupational safety and health
aspects, a mechanism is to be devised with joint
support from bodies like Directorate General of
Factories Advice Service and Labour Institutes
(DGFASLI), National Institute of Occupational
Health (NIOH) etc. The focus should be on local-
ised risks and behaviour based safety.
28 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
Penalising defaulter units: In case of non
adherence of Factories Act 1948, Environment
Protection Act 1986, and other allied rules
(MSIHC, EPPR etc.) and regulations pertaining
to chemical safety, prompt action should be taken
against defaulters. Chemical units which are
dumping hazardous waste in unsafe manner and
polluting the surrounding environment should be
strictly penalised.
Emergency plan: The district authority, the nodal
agency at the district level, is responsible for the
development and institutionalisation of the offsite
emergency plan of the district. The concerned
departments and community should be sensitised
by the district authority about potential hazards
and preparedness. Further, it should take stock
of the required and available resources, conduct
inventorisation at district and sub district level
and also equip the district emergency opera-
tions centre to meet all the communication and
coordination requirements. The district authority
should also periodically facilitate the district crisis
group (DCG) and keep track of activities of local
crisis group (LCG) on potential chemical hazards
and associated risks.
NGOs and community: Although NGOs are not
entirely technically sound from the point of view
of chemical industrial safety, they are generally the
first responders. Therefore, it is also very impor-
tant for these stakeholders to be sensitised about
chemical hazard prevention and preparedness.
The identified group or representatives should
be part of LCG, and report unsafe observations,
such as chemical spillage, leakage, or dumping of
hazardous waste in the surroundings, and share
information with the community about applicable
hazards and local safety measures. The identified
group of volunteers, community representatives
and citizens task force should be trained in the
dissemination of warning in the vicinity to assist
the district authority and chemical units, as and
when required, by using local communication
means.
The authors are Member and Specialist- Chemical
Industrial Disaster Management, National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA), New Delhi.
muzaffarahmad@ndma.gov.in
 Term Power
■ 1 to 4 Correct - Informed
■ 5 to 7 Correct - Knowledge bank
■ 8 to 9 Correct - Encyclopaedia
1. avalaNchE
Ans: c. Avalanche or a
snow slide, may occur
during winter from
December to April,
along any slope in the
snow bound reaches
of the Himalaya. The
Snow and Avalanche
Study Establishment,
Chandigarh, is responsible
for operational avalanche
prediction in India.
4. laNdfall
Ans: b. In a tropical or
subtropical storm when the
eye of the storm passes over
land, it is termed as 'making
landfall'. However, many
times the strongest winds
in a tropical cyclone can
be experienced
over land even
without landfall.
7. firE liNEE
Ans: a. These are used to
prevent fires in the forest.
In addition to the specially
cut fire lines, all roads
passing through the forest
are treated as fire lines.
Trenches or raised portions
are cleared of vegetation
and burnt before the fire
season commences.
Rating
2. MaNgo
showEr
Ans: a. These are
pre-monsoon showers in
Karnataka, Kerala, and
parts of Tamil Nadu and
Puducherry. They help
in mango ripening. They
occur in late April and
early May, and are
caused due to
thunderstorms
5. EpicENtrEE
Ans: a. It is the point
where most severe
damage is experienced
during an earthquake. It
has no physical meaning
as it is hypothetical point
on the surface vertically
above the source of the
earthquake—hypocentre
or focus.
8. tElE- tsuNaMi
Ans: a. These are caused
by the vertical motion of
the seabed or volcanic
eruptions. Despite
travelling more than 1000
km, they are less frequent
but more hazardous
than regional
tsunamis.
3. Nor’ wEstErs
Ans: c. These severe
thunderstorms that occur
between March and May,
sometimes reaching
tornadic violence. The
winds in these storms
come from a north-westerly
direction. They are also
known as Kalbaisakhi.
6. El NiNo
Ans: b. It is an oscillation
of the ocean-atmosphere
system in the tropical
Pacific with effects like
increased rainfall and
brush fires. In contrast,
La Niña is characterised
by unusually cold ocean
temperatures in the
equatorial Pacific.
9. soil liquE-
factioN
Ans: a. It can
be caused by an
earthquake or other
rapid loading. It occurs
in soils in which the
space between the
particles is filled with
water.
Disaster perspectives

30  March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 Story Pijush Samui

Liquefaction
Of Soil During
Earthquakes
The mechanism of an earthquake is very complex.
The resultant liquefaction of soil is one of the prime
causes of immense damage to life and property and
has been discussed in the essay.

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014  31

E
arthquakes cause liquefaction of soil,
transforming granular material from a
solid to a liquefied state as a consequence
of increased pore-water pressure and
reduced effective stress. The generation of excess
pore pressure under undrained loading condi-
tions is a hallmark of all liquefaction phenomena.
This occurrence was brought to the attention of True colour
engineers more so after the Niigata (1964) and
Alaska (1964) earthquakes. Liquefaction causes
building settlement or tipping, sand boils, ground
cracks, landslides, dam instability, highway
embankment failures, or other hazards.
Liquefaction changes the amplitude and fre-
quency content of ground motions. Ground surface
displacement increases when ground acceleration
decreases, causing damage that is of great concern
to public safety. Site-specific evaluation of liquefac-
tion susceptibility of sandy and silty soils is the first
step in liquefaction hazard assessment.
Liquefaction is divided into two groups—flow
liquefaction and cyclic mobility. The former occurs
only in loose soil and produces massive flow slides,
sinking and tilting of heavy structure, floating of False colour
light buried structures and failure of retaining
structures. Cyclic mobility occurs in loose and
dense soils, causing slumping of slopes, settlements
of buildings, lateral spreading and retaining wall
failure. Level-ground liquefaction occurs when Liquefaction potential is evaluated by compar-
cyclic loading is sufficient to produce high excess ing equivalent measure of earthquake loading
pore pressure. The existence of sand boils is often and liquefaction resistance. Earthquake loading
taken as evidence of level-ground liquefaction. characterisation is generally done by using cyclic
The determination of behaviour of soil due to shear stress. By normalising the cyclic shear stress
an earthquake is an imperative task in disaster amplitude by initial effective overburden stress, a
mitigation. Liquefaction of soil depends on the cyclic stress ratio (CSR) is defined. CSR represents
following parameters: the level of cyclic loading induced at different
■ Intensity of earthquake and its duration depths in a soil profile, which corresponds to a spe-
■ Location of ground water table ■ Soil type cific earthquake. Resistance, mostly characterised
■ Soil relative density ■ Particle size gradation on field observation and based on the potential for
■ Particle shape ■ Depositional environment of liquefaction, is classified by comparing CSR with
soil ■ Soil drainage conditions ■ Confining pres- the liquefaction resistance, and cyclic resistance
sures ■ Aging and cementation of soil deposits ratio (CRR). In cyclic strain approach, liquefaction
■ Historical environment of soil deposit ; and, is expected at locations where the cyclic strain am-
■ Building/additional loads on the soil deposit. plitude induced for a particular number of cycles
Poorly-graded soils are generally more sus- by an earthquake is greater than the cyclic strain
ceptible to liquefaction than well-graded ones; amplitude required to initiate liquefaction in the
similarly, soils with rounded particles are more same number of cycles. There are five earthquake
susceptible to liquefaction. A site that is close to the zones in India and the above techniques can be
epicenter of fault rupture of a major earthquake or used in zone 2, 3, 4 and 5.
a site that has a ground water table close to ground The liquefaction hazard can be minimised by
surface is prone to liquefaction. using the following construction methods for spe-

32  March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you


cific locations. However, most of these mitigation
methods are yet to be extensively adopted in India.
Vibroflotation: This involves the use of a vibrating
probe that can penetrate granular soil to depths of
over 100 feet. The vibrations of the probe cause the
grain structure to collapse thereby densifying the
soil surrounding the probe.
dynamic compaction: Densification by dynamic
compaction is performed by dropping a heavy
weight of steel or concrete in a grid pattern from
heights of 30 to 100 ft. It provides an economical
way of improving soil for mitigation of liquefac-
tion hazards.
Stone columns: These are columns of gravel
constructed into the ground. Stone columns can
be constructed by the vibroflotation method.
compaction piles: Installing compaction piles
is an effective way of improving soil. Compaction
piles are usually made of prestressed concrete
or timber. Installation of compaction piles both
densifies and reinforces the soil.
compaction Grouting: This is a technique
whereby a slow-flowing water/sand/cement mix
These multi-angle imaging
spectroradiometer (MISR) images show the
Kutch region in the Gujarat province of western India. On January
26, 2001, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake devastated this area, killing
20,000 people and destroying buildings, dams, and port facilities.
The MISR images are pre- and post-earthquake scenes acquired
on January 15 (two left images) and January 31, 2001 (two right
images), respectively. Each of these images is about 275 km wide
by 218 km high. The earthquake epicenter was just below the
southern tip of the large, white area on the right-hand side of the
images (circled), and about 70 km northeast of the city of Bhuj.
The salt flats can be seen in the white and grey areas. During the
earthquake, strong shaking produced liquefaction in the fine silts
and sands below the water table in the Rann of Kutch. This caused
the mineral grains to settle and expel their interstitial water to the
surface. Field investigations have found abundant evidence of mud
volcanos, sand boils, and fissures from which salty ground water
erupted over an area exceeding 10,000 square km. Evidence of the
expelled water can also be seen on the MISR images. Notice the
delicate, dendritic pattern of stream channels throughout many of
the salt-flats on the post-earthquake image, especially due north
of the epicenter. These carried water brought to the surface by
liquefaction during the earthquake.
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov
is injected under pressure into granular soil. The
grout forms a bulb that displaces and hence densi-
fies the surrounding soil. Compaction grouting
is a good option if the foundation of an existing
building requires improvement, since it is possible
to inject the grout from the side or at an inclined
angle to reach beneath the building.
drainage techniques: Liquefaction hazards can
be reduced by increasing the drainage ability of
the soil. If the pore water within the soil can drain
freely, the build-up of excess pore water pressure
will be reduced. Drainage techniques include
installation of drains of gravel, sand or synthetic
materials. Synthetic wick drains can be installed
at various angles, in contrast to gravel or sand
drains that are usually installed vertically. Drain-
age techniques are often used in combination with
other types of soil improvement techniques for
more effective liquefaction hazard reduction.
The author is Professor, Centre for Disaster
Mitigation and Management, VIT University, Vellore.
pijush.phd@gmail.com
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014  33
 Disaster perspectives

The Companies
Act 2013 has
enhanced the
possibilities of
utilising the CSR
of companies
for disaster risk
reduction.

34 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

Mainstreaming CSR in
Disaster Risk Reduction
Mainstreaming corporate social
responsibility in disaster management
could support disaster preparedness and
mitigation activities of the community
and mobilise human, material, and
financial resources of the company for
utilisation during disaster situations.
Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 35

I ndia’s geo-climatic conditions
as well as its high degree of socio-
economic vulnerability make it
one of the most disaster-prone
countries in the world. The high vulnerability
profile of India has severely affected every sector
of the economy resulting in great financial loss
and infrastructural damage in the past few dec-
ades. India reportedly faced losses over Rs 1000
crore (185 million USD) due to the adverse winter
weather in January 2014, according to the Global
Catastrophe Recap study, released by Impact
Forecasting, the catastrophe model development
centre at Aon Benfield, a US based reinsurance
capital advisor company.
The corporate sector possesses huge resources—
human, material, technical, and financial, and is
an integral part of the socio-economic life of the
community. It has a stake in the well-being and
prosperity of the community as its own progress
and viability is dependent on it. Recognising the
importance of integrating the corporate sector in
disaster risk management, the National Disaster
Framework drawn up by the Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of India envisages the “in-
volvement of the corporate sector in awareness
generation and disaster preparedness and mitiga-
tion planning through sensitisation, training and
co-opting of the corporate sector and their nodal
bodies in planning process and response mecha-
nisms”. Moreover, there is an increasing demand
for accountability from the corporate sector as
the value and reputation of a company is being
judged by the social and environmental impact
of its business activities and by its contribution
to the economic well-being and development of
the community where it operates. Therefore, the
corporate sector cannot remain secluded from
its responsibilities to develop a safe and disaster-
resilient community.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in India
has received a renewed thrust with the enactment
of the Companies Act, 2013 that has introduced a
new provision for CSR. Clause 135 of this Act stipu-
lates that every company which has a net worth of
Rs 500 crore or more, a turnover of Rs 1000 crore
36 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
or more or a net profit of Rs 5 crore or more during
any financial year is required to spend at least 2 per
cent of its average net profit in the previous three
years on CSR activities. According to the Indian
Institute of Corporate Affairs, a minimum of 6,000
Indian companies will be required to undertake
CSR projects in order to comply with the provisions
of the Companies Act, 2013 with many companies
undertaking these initiatives for the first time.
While large corporate houses such as Tata and
Birla have a long history of engaging in CSR activi-
ties, the new CSR clause will particularly affect the
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by requiring
companies with a minimum net profit of Rs 5 crore
to spend on CSR activities. It will be challenging for
SMEs to undertake CSR activities, as this business
sector is increasingly under scrutiny from its cus-
tomers to comply with environmental and social
standards while remaining competitive in terms of
price and quality.
This new CSR law has enhanced the possibilities
of utilising the CSR of companies for disaster risk
reduction (DRR). Schedule VII of the Act, which
lists out the activities eligible under CSR, does
not directly refer to disaster mitigation related
activities but many of the listed activities such as
poverty eradication, woman empowerment, skill
enhancement, environment sustainability etc.,
could contribute towards building disaster resil-
ient communities. In addition, contributions by
the companies to the Prime Minister’s National
Relief Fund, which is primarily utilised for post
disaster relief and reconstruction, and other such
state and central funds will be considered as CSR
under this Act. It also clarifies that activities ex-
clusively meant for the benefit of the employees or
the shareholders of the company will not qualify
as CSR activities. In other words, CSR needs to
address the well-being of all stakeholders and the
wider community, and not just the company’s
shareholders or employees.
The CSR clause emphasises community based
activities, where preference should be given by
companies to local areas and the regions around
the place of its operation. Mainstreaming CSR in
disaster management could involve the corporate
 Many of the activities listed in the Companies Act 2013,
such as poverty eradication, woman empowerment, skill
enhancement, environment sustainability etc., could
contribute towards building disaster resilient communities.
sector in supporting disaster preparedness and
mitigation activities of the community and in mo-
bilising human, material, and financial resources
of the company for utilisation during disaster
situations.
The approach of the Companies Act 2013 to-
wards CSR is to consider it holistic and integrated
with the core business strategy of the company
for addressing social and environmental impacts
of businesses. CSR is an important component of
corporate sustainability or responsible business.
While philanthropic activities of a company could
be part of its CSR activities, it goes beyond the con-
cept of philanthropy as it constitutes a much larger
set of activities central to business strategy of the
companies. It is not just about what is done with
the profits after they are made but also relates to
how the profits are made. Hence, by mainstream-
ing CSR in disaster management, disaster risk
reduction could become integral to the core busi-
ness operations of the company.
A company could implement CSR activities
through its in-house CSR department, corporate
foundation, or it could form partnerships with
non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The
latter option could open up new avenues of pub-
lic–private partnership or corporate-civil society
collaboration in disaster management related ac-
tivities. Companies, particularly SMEs, that do
not have the manpower, expertise or experience
in implementing CSR activities in areas related to
disaster risk management or are unaware of local
conditions and social needs in post-disaster sce-
narios, could involve an NGO as its implementing
partner. A company could reap various benefits
from its CSR activities in disaster management—
supporting the community at the time of disaster
could enhance the image of the company leading
to positive publicity and brand building of the
company, which in turn could boost the morale
of employees, generate a feeling of satisfaction,
and improve operational efficiency. Collaborating
with government agencies, NGOs, or civil society
organisations (CSOs) via its CSR activities could
foster new relationships with various stakeholders
in the community and interests of local commu-
nity could bring a wide range of business benefits.
On the other hand, NGOs and CSOs could also
benefit from their collaboration with the com-
panies. The NGOs, through their tie-up with
companies will not only be able to receive funds
for their activities during emergencies, but will
also be assured of a secure source of funding for its
long term projects. The Handbook on Corporate
Social Responsibility in India, 2013, published by
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) states that
it is estimated that CSR commitments from com-
panies can amount to as much as Rs 20,000 crore.
A trans-national initiative to involve the corpo-
rate sector in disaster management is the founding
of Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management
in October 2012 (apadm.org). The purpose of
this Alliance is to create a national platform for
disaster aid, consisting of government agencies,
corporate sectors and NGOs in the countries of
Asia-Pacific region. The platform, through pre-
agreements with the corporate sector, aims to
build a support system for effective and efficient
delivery system of goods and services for disaster
aid and response. India, which is not yet a member,
could benefit by joining this Alliance, as it would
not only strengthen the cooperation between the
corporate sector and the civil society nationally,
but would also enhance the scope of collaboration
internationally.
The author is Associate Professor in the Department
of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi and
Chairperson, Samutthan Foundation, New Delhi.
ranjanayaya@gmail.com
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 37
Disaster perspectives

Disaster

Coastal populations,
especially those of the east coast
of India, are prone to frequent
cyclonic calamities. Women’s
participation in distribution,
rebuilding, management and
all other aspects of disaster
is imperative for fostering
responsive and sensitive
partners who can mitigate the
vulnerability status.

Story Sulagna Chattopadhyay

Preparedness
Gender and
Vulnerable
Coastal
Communities

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 39

I ndia is one of the most vul-
nerable countries that are
recurrently prone to natural
disasters, cyclone being one
of the most prominent. Perhaps more stark than
the calamities is the marginalisation of women
during and post disasters; being increasingly
exposed to crime, unsafe delivery and poor nutri-
tion. Moreover, breakage of community linkages
and the matrix of dependency show that disaster
preparedness lacks gender sensitisation at its core.
Even today women are looked upon as victims and
the perception of their ‘helplessness’ undermines
the natural potential to manage efficient linkages
before, during and after a disaster. The aspect
came to further light from a study conducted by
the G’nY team in the Raichak area, about 300 km
from the cyclone core of Balasore in Odisha and
approximately 60 km south of Kolkata, and Mou-
sani in Sunderban, 90 odd km south of Kolkata.
West Bengal is ranked third in the number of cy-
clones in India with a cyclone probability of 0.6 per
year, i.e. at least one cyclone every second year (In-
dian Meteorological Department records for 1891
to 2006). Thus, preparedness is an important aspect
in the region. The vulnerable sections were found
to be alert to weather changes and could at times
preempt storm-like circulations with accuracy.
The STudy
The area when visited was found to be inhabited
mainly by young women in the age group of 15 to
44. Their daily chores included, apart from house-
hold activities, gleaning shrimp seed from the
distributaries of Ganga that flowed before their
houses and tending to subsistence paddy fields.
The women were mostly educated up to fourth or
fifth class while the men were marginally better off
with a score of matriculates. Engaged in low skilled
labour, the women were found to be working in
adverse conditions that were exploitative in terms
of sale of fish seed and other subsistence produce.
The women were found to have very little owned
assets, which were in most cases in the name of the
40 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
husband or the son. Women of Mousani showed
a greater number of owned assets as compared to
the women of the fishing hamlet in Raichak.
The housing in the region mainly comprises of
‘kuccha’ habitations, following a linear pattern on
the levee in the case of Raichak, and scattered in
the island of Mousani. The ceilings are low, rang-
ing from 4 to 6 feet, usually single roomed, used
mainly by women for sleeping and storing, with
kitchen, washing and leisure spaces located out-
side. Significantly, only one house had a toilet in
Mousani, while the habitation at Raichak had no
bathing spaces, let alone toilets.
ReSponSe To diSaSTeRS
When the female respondents were posed ques-
tions related to disaster preparedness, they largely
dismissed its need. Vulnerability, they opined, is
a part of life. They were reluctant to consider relo-
cation, as they felt it would affect their livelihood.
Ranked at the top was their need for better housing.
They were aware of warning systems and tune in to
radio or TV warnings when the skies turn grey. Few
of the respondents mentioned that a loud speaker
system would be of better use, especially if they
have to evacuate and go to a camp or shelter. They
seemed aware of cyclone shelters in their location
but do not feel comfortable about accessing it as
it does not hold an inviolate space for women. As
regards disaster preparedness, they felt that they
know each other well in the village and they do not
need to be aligned just so that they can be prepared.
The respondents opined that their prime-most
need in a post disaster situation is food and drink-
ing water. They feel that camps should have specific
areas designated for women and children and are
open to women assistance for dealing with issues
of reproductive health. They cite cases where the
women find it difficult to cope with the flood of
people, inclement conditions and zero sensitivity
in the shelters. The female respondents feel that the
disaster evacuation and assistance lack the com-
fort and assurance that women rescue and relief
workers could contribute. The respondents were
 Women are strong advocates for
preparedness measures.

least conclusive about better sanitation facilities.
As regards molestation and crime in shelters, one
respondent said that she consciously chose to leave
her young daughter and minor son in the ravaged
house despite the risk and went herself to collect
food and water, as she did not want to expose her
daughter to the risks of sexual abuse.
CommuniTy maTRix
The small fisher folk community of Raichak, as
well as the paddy growers of the sinking island of
Mousani, has a cohesive society bound together
by common dangers of shared livelihoods. These
strong indigenous associations provide an exist-
ing organisational base to be the first responders
of disasters and emergencies. Often these associa-
tions function to cross-cut kin groups, serving to
balance dominating political and economic forc-
es. If women’s groups are aligned at the grassroot
level along existing lines it would be the decisive
way to prepare and mitigate the negative impacts
of a disaster. Women are strong advocates for
preparedness measures at the community level
because they understand what disaster means in
the day-to-day realities of life.
inTeRvenTionS needed
A brief study of existing policies of states (dis-
aster management being a state issue) that have
vulnerable coastal communities living in similar

Table 1: Recent disasters in India and women personnel deployed by the NDRF
Number of ToTa l
Number
organisation perso n nel perso n nel Women p e r s o N N e l Com po sitio n i N Ca m ps
o f te a ms i N e ach te a m deploy ed

CyClone ph ailin oCto ber 2013

“Don’t know the number.

Women only in medical
3rd Battalion,
team”... “two lady doctors, Men, women separate
National Disaster 29 with 10-15
42 1233 nurses”... “women preferred enclosures, separate area for ill
Response Force, supervisors
in medical, not in rescue people.
Odisha
and search team”—
Commandant M K Yadav.

Ut ta r a k h a nd floods JU n e 2013

8th Battalion,
“15-20 women paramedics,
National Disaster 510 on an
12 40-45 replaced by men later” —
Response Force, average
Commandant P K Srivastava
Ghaziabad
7th Battalion,
“No women because that
National Disaster
4 23+28+33+35 119 place was not suitable.” —
Response Force,
Inspector Jyoti Ranjan Das
Bhatinda
“60-80 women in relief
operations for nursing in People travel in large groups,
Indo-Tibetan
3 battalions 1800 hospitals, consolation, taking prefer to stay together.—PRO
Border Police
care of people.”—PRO Vivek Vivek Pandey
Pandey

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 41

Leader in the
making: Rama runs
a tea stall at one end
of the linear fishing
hamlet of Raichak. She
acts as a focal point of
various discussions
and is well accepted
by her fellow members
and appreciated for
her helpful nature.
When her husband
is out fishing Rama
also helps in making
the rattan bindings
to be used in various
homes.

42 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 Preparedness and mitigation
amalgamated with income
earning mechanism can
offer a viable solution.
conditions points towards a lack of interventions
at the grassroot level. The West Bengal disaster
management policy writes in its objectives that it
needs to ‘address gender issues in disaster man-
agement’ but does not move beyond to outline how
it can be done. The Odisha State Disaster Mange-
ment Policy is vibrant with sections on mitigation
of gender discrimination; evacuation of women
and children; identification of women-headed
household and outlines how women groups can
build preparedness. However, very little is being
done on the ground as can be seen from the
Phailin records. The National Policy on Disaster
Management (NPDM) talks of building a State
Disaster Response Force (SDRF) wherein each
state may aim at equipping and training one bat-
talion equivalent force which is to include women
members. But till date women are not part of such
a battalion in West Bengal or Odisha, or even
Uttarakhand. Let alone the states, the National
Disaster Response Force too does not deploy any
women in their battalions, citing that rescue and
relief operations are ‘not suitable’ for women.
In the recent years India has been battered by
various cyclones. It is strange that data (Table 1)
suggests that not one of the battalions had a sig-
nificant number of women in them. Disaster relief
is a sensitive process and needs equally important
inputs from women who can work efficiently dur-
ing and in the aftermath of a disaster. It should
be mandated that at least 30 per cent of the force
comprise of women if sensitisation needs to be
incorporated in disaster relief. The reproductive
health and issues of abuse are better shared with a
woman relief worker as compared to men. The fish-
ing communities in coastal regions have a skewed
population ratio, exposing the home-stationed ‘in
situ’ women to cyclones or tidal waves. Thus, there
is an urgent need to incorporate women in relief
work so that vulnerabilities are addressed and
redressed with sensitivity.
Women centric policies in India have been
based on the premise of women frailties. The
mind-set works into the psyche of women too
when domains are pre-fixed for them. Gender in
preparedness at the community level must begin
with the grassroot grouping of women. Pointers
and brochures at the policy level indicate the need
for community led disaster task force and how it
may be formed. But there were no such groups in
Raichak, or for that matter in the Sunderban island
of Mousani. There are self help groups though,
that align themselves on vocational or income
earning opportunities. These may be accessed by
making disaster preparedness part of an income
earning mechanism, where low cost building ma-
terials in the post cyclone situation may be one of
the marketable skills offered. The women climate-
warrior groups can then be offered micro-credit
and enterprise status to take disaster prepared-
ness to the next level by changing the ‘god’s wish’
defeatist tag. Thus preparedness and mitigation
amalgamated with income earning mechanism
can offer a viable solution.
During the relief period there is an urgent need
to offer responsibilities to women—especially
to women community leaders who can work as
primary distributors of emergency rations. This
would help in upholding the dignity of women
and stop them from being compromised while
tackling the double burden of protecting herself
as well as fending for her children. Women should
also be made in charge of adequate sanitation
facilities, as safe and clean toilets are imperative
in an evacuation scenario. The need for organised
gendered approach that takes women’s physical,
psychological, social and economic vulnerabili-
ties into account at every stage of a disaster—from
preparedness to rehabilitation urgently needs to
be put in place not on paper but in reality.
editor@geographyandyou.com
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 43
Disaster perspectives

Dhanushkodi
A DisAster thAt
Wiped Out
inDiA’s
GeOGraphy

44 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

The ghosT Town of DhanushkoDi, LocaTeD on a TomboLo a
LiTTLe beyonD RameswaRam, useD To be inDia’s fuRThesT
ouTposT in The inDian ocean. howeveR, The supeR cycLone
of 1964 noT onLy wipeD ouT inDia’s hisToRy buT aLso iTs
geogRaphy.
d Mitra

Photo. Vinod M. vkmphotos@gmail.com

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 45

T
he remnants of Dhanushkodi,
located at the southern tip of the
island of Rameswaram on the
eastern coast of India in Tamil
Nadu, are about 29 km (18 miles)
west of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka.
The Dhanushkodi railway line, running from
Pamban Station, and much of the small town were
destroyed in the 1964 cyclone. The passenger train
with over 115 passengers drowned in the sea on
the fateful day. Now it is nothing but a ‘ghost town’.
Before the 1964 cyclone, Dhanushkodi was a
flourishing tourist and pilgrimage centre. Since
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is just an hour away, there
were many ferry services between Dhanushkodi
and Talaimannar, transporting travellers and
goods across the sea. The town was vibrant with
hotels, textile shops and dharamshala catering
to every need of a traveller. The now defunct
railway line—ran directly from Mandapam to
Dhanushkodi and had a railway station, a small
railway hospital, a higher secondary school, a
post office, customs and port offices and more.
It was here that Swami Vivekananda set foot on
Indian soil from Colombo in January 1897 after
his triumphant visit to the west to attend the
World’s Parliament of Religions held in USA in
September 1893.
On the night of December 22, train no. 653, the
Pamban-Dhanushkodi Passenger, a daily regular
declared Dhanushkodi unfit for living. It is now
intermittently visited by a handful of fisherfolk.
A tombolo—named Adam’s Bridge, extends
from Dhanushkodi into the Gulf of Mannar.
The sub-basin of the Gulf of Mannar constitutes
the south-eastern offshore section of the Cau-
very Basin, the southernmost of the Mesozoic
rift basins along the east coast of India. The late
Jurassic fragmentation of eastern Gondwanaland
into India, Antarctica, and Australia initiated the
formation of Mesozoic rift basins on the eastern
continental margin of India including the Cau-
very Basin. Numerous deep extensional faults
developed in the NE-SW direction during rifting
which initiated active subsidence that resulted in
the formation of graben and horst blocks, subdi-
viding the Cauvery Basin into many sub-basins
including the Gulf of Mannar (Fig 1)
A group of professors from Madurai Kamaraj
University (MKU) and colleges in the southern
districts asserted during a 2007 press meet that
the Adam’s Bridge was “a geological formation,
which took place around 17 million years ago
Fig. 1: Geological map of the Gulf of Mannar
Cauvery Basin
Puduchery
Ariyalur-Puduchery Cuddalore

service which left Pamban with 110 passengers Sub-basin

Portonovo
and 5 railway staff, was only a few hundred yards Horst

from the Dhanushkodi Railway station when Tranquebar

Sub-basin
it was hit by a massive tidal wave caused by the Karaikal Horst
1964 super cyclone. The whole train was washed Madanam Horst

away, killing all 115 on board. The high tidal waves Nagapatinam
Sub-basin
Nannilan High
moved deep onto the island and ruined the entire
Tanjur Sub-basin
town. Over 1800 people died in the cyclonic storm, Vedaranniyam

and all the structures were marooned. In terms of Horst

wind velocity, which touched 150 knots (277 km

Pattukottai ridge
per hour) at Vavunia in Northern Sri Lanka on the
evening of 22 December 1964, the Rameshwaram Mandapam delft ridge
cyclone is regarded as one of Asia’s fiercest in the Ramnad
20th century. Eyewitness accounts speak of how Sub-basin Rameswaram

the surging waters stopped short of the main

temple at Rameshwaram where many people had Gulf of Mannar
Srilanka

taken refuge from the fury of the storm. Follow-

ing this disaster, the Tamil Nadu state government Map not to scale

46 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

Old Church at Dhanushkodi
Photo courtesy: A K Mishra

Fig. 2: Landsat imagery of Dhanushkodi. when India and Sri Lanka were detached in a
drift. It had been geologically proven that the sand
bars were formed at this time”. Udhayana Pillai
of the Department of Geology of Chidambaram
College, Tuticorin, added during the proceed-
ings that the bridge belonged to the Miocene era.
S Krishnasamy of Department of Biotechnology
of MKU pointed out that human beings reached
2000
Talaimannar and Rameswaram about 50,000
years ago and there was no scientific basis to show
that the Adam’s Bridge was man-made as Hindu
mythology leads us to believe.
The region is highly dynamic because the con-
fluence of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal is
subject to constant modification. Changes in the
2013 region are evident from multi-temporal satellite
imagery (Fig 2). Strong sea currents modify the
coastal land forms, as do cyclones and associated
storm surges.

The author is Head, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

Department, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing,
2014
Dehradun. d_mitra@hotmail.com

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 47

Disasters in the year that was
Where: Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana
and Punjab,
Epicentre: Kishtwar town in
Jammu and Kashmir
Depth: 10 km
When: 1 May 2013
Magnitude: 5.8 on Richter scale
Cause: Kashmir lies in the area
of collision of the Eurasian and
Indian tectonic plates and is
subject to frequent earthquakes.
Effects: Tremors induced cracks
in buildings and disruption of
communication systems.
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department; India Today- May
1, 2014
Cyclone
The subcontinent is one of the worst affected cyclone regions in
the world, exposed to 10 per cent of the world’s tropical cyclones
Phailin
Where: Gopalpur, Odisha in the
evening hours of October 12
Origin: South China Sea
When: 8-14 October, 2013
Wind speed: 200-210 kmph
gusting to 220 kmph
Cause: Remnant cyclonic circula-
tion from the South China Sea
Effect: Rainfall and floods. 59
deaths, nearly 9 lakh people
evacuated in Odisha
The Odisha government has
estimated the losses at Rs
21,770.87 crore.
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department, Indian Express-
November 2, 2013; CNN- October
14, 2013.
48 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
Earthquake
About 59 per cent of India’s land area is under the threat of
moderate to severe earthquake intensity.
Where: Gangtok, Sikkim
Earthquake
Epicentre: about 69 km
northwest of Gangtok (27.4o N and
88.5o E)
Depth: 9 km
When: October 3, 2013
Magnitude: 5.2 on Richter scale
Cause: The main reason for
damage was the shallow depth of
the hypocenter
Effects: Damage to buildings in
Gangtok, felt across Darjeeling
and Sikkim
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department; U.S. Geological
Survey
hElEn
Where: South of Machilipatnam,
Andhra Pradesh
Origin: Bay of Bengal
When: 19-23 November, 2013
Wind speed: 80-90 kmph
gusting to 100 kmph
Cause: The remnant energy of
Tropical Storm Podul contributed
to the formation of the storm Helen
in the Bay of Bengal
Effect: Torrential rains, 10 dead,
about 10,000 evacuated, standing
crops damaged.
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department, Business Standard-
November 24, 2013; Times of
India- November 23, 2013
Where: Delhi
Epicentre: South Delhi,
Depth: 13-16 km
When: 11 November, 2013
Magnitude: Four earthquakes
spread over 1 hour 15 mins of
magnitudes 3.1, 3.3, 2.5, 2.8
Cause: Delhi is close to several
fault lines below the Yamuna.
Effects: No damage or deaths
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department; BBC- November
12, 2013
lEhar
Where: Machilipatnam, Andhra
Pradesh
Origin: South China Sea on
November 18
When: 23-28 November, 2013
Wind speed: 80-90 kmph
gusting to 100 kmph
Cause: Remnant of tropical
depression over south China Sea
Effect: No reported damage as it
dissipated into a depression by 29
November
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department; India TV- November
29, 2013
Where: Nicobar Island
Epicentre: 110 km southeast of
Misha, Nicobar Islands
Depth: 10 km
When: 21 March, 2014
Magnitude: 6.7 on Richter scale,
followed by severe aftershocks
Cause: The area is part of the
‘Ring of Fire’ –an arc of volcanoes
and fault lines encircling the
Pacific basin; it experiences
frequent earthquakes and
volcanic activity
Effects: No reported casualties
or damage
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department; Reuters- March
21, 2014
MaDi
Where: Crossed near the coast
twice at Vedaranyam and Tondi,
Tamil Nadu
Origin: South-west Bay of Bengal
When: 6-13 December, 2013
Magnitude: 45-55 kmph gusting
to 65 kmph
Cause: Low pressure area from
the south China Sea
Effect: No reports of significant
damage or disruption due to the
storm, weakened into a depres-
sion by the time it reached very
close to Vedaranyam, Tamil Nadu
on December 12.
Source: Indian Meteorological
Department; Earthweek- Decem-
ber 13, 2013
 Floods
The Uttarakhand flood jolted the nation with its ferocity, while
the Bihar floods have become an annual fixture.

Uttarakhand disaster Bihar flood Ganjam flood

Where: Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Chamoli,
Pithoragarh, Pauri and Tehri districts of
Uttarakhand
When: 14-17 June, 2013
Cause: Very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall
from 6-18 June, 2013. National Institute of Disaster
Management has blamed “climatic conditions
combined with haphazard human intervention” in
the hills for the disaster.
Effect: The rain caused landslides and increase
in levels of water in two main rivers of the State,
namely Alaknanda and Bhagirathi; this has resulted
in ruined infrastructure; estimated 6748 people
dead.
Source: Indian Meteorological Department;
euttaranchal- September 3, 2013; Annual Global
Climate and Catastrophe Report: Impact Forecast-
ing, 2013.
Where: Patna, Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Where: Odisha’s cyclone-hit
Munger, Lakhisarai, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Bhojpur, Ganjam district along with some
Saran, Vaishali and Buxar. areas in Gajapati
When: July and August 2013 When: October, 2013
Cause: Flooding has been primarily caused by Cause: Incessant rains from 22-26
continuous heavy rainfall in Ganga basins resulting October
excess water in the river Ganga and its tributaries in Effect: 22 lakh people affected, at
Bihar; overflowing embankments in July and August least 47 people have lost their lives.
2013 Source: Zee News- October 25,
Effect: More than 44 lakh people in 3,768 villages 2013; The Hindu- October 30, 2013
affected in 20 districts of the state. At least 201 people
died and nearly seven million people have been
affected in the floods in 20 districts, and crops in over
one lakh hectares worth 150 crore of rupees have
been destroyed and road communication snapped at
several places.
Source: reliefweb- September 10, 2013

Others
BarrEn islanD vOlCanO, inDia’s Only
aCtivE vOlCanO
Where: Andaman islands archipelago
When: February 2013; October 2013;
December 2013, February 2014
Effect: An ash plume rising to 20,000 ft (6
km) altitude and drifting 120 nautical miles to
the south-west was reported in February. In
October the ash plume rose 12,000 ft (3.6 km)
and drifted 15 nautical miles to the north-west.
Intermittent activity was observed in February
2014.
Source: Volcano discovery- Feb 4, 2014; Dec
23,15, 2013; Oct 16,17, 2013; Feb 17, 2013
hailstOrM
Where: Vidarbha and Marathwada region in
Maharashtra most affected, Madhya Pradesh
and a few districts of Karnataka and Rajasthan
also affected
When: Began on 22nd February, continued as
rain and hailstorm for about a fortnight.
Cause: The hailstorms developed as a
response to hot, damp air from Bay of Bengal
as well as Arabian Sea, rising and meeting the
cold air coming south from the Himalayas,
which led to formation of huge hail.
Effect: 28 people dead, 38 farmer suicides.
17.7 lakh hectares of agricultural land
spanning across 28 districts had been hit by
the hailstorm and more than 50 per cent crops
were damaged.
Source: Indian Express- March 20, 2014; The
Hindu- March 20, SANDRP- March 11, 2014
Bihar DrOUGht
Where: 33 districts of Bihar declared drought
hit.
When: Kharif season - July to October
Cause: 25 per cent less rainfall at 668.6 mm
as compared to the annual average rainfall of
892.2 mm
Effect: Fall in the paddy sowing, depletion of
underground water table, cattle rearing and
employment generation have taken a hit
Funds from the National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response
Force (SDRF) were mobilised
Source: The Hindu- September 18, 2013

KUMBh MEla staMPEDE Bihar MiD-Day MEal POisOninG tirUMala firE

Where: Allahabad railway station
When: 10 February, 2013
Cause: According to initial reports, a broken
railing at the station caused the stampede. Eye-
witnesses claimed the stampede was triggered
after policemen lathi charged the crowd
Effect: 36 killed, at least 39 injured
Source: Reuters- February 11, 2013
Where: Primary school in the village of
Dharmashati Gandaman in the Saran district of
the Indian state of Bihar
When: 16 July, 2013
Cause: Contaminated mid-day meal
Effect: Government records say 22 children
died, 23 others and the cook hospitalised.
Villagers claim total fatalities 27.
Source: Times of India- July 18, 2013;
Where: Seshachalam forest
When: Seshachalam fire began on 18th March
2014, doused by 22nd March 2014.
Cause: Could have been caused by pilgrims’
cooking fire or by red sandalwood smugglers
Effect: About 1400 hectare of forest land
burned, no loss of human lives
Source: AP forest department; TTD officials

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 49

First report
Disaster

50 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 The
Tirumala
Fire
The fire in the Seshachalam forest in Chittoor district, Andhra
Pradesh destroyed 1300-1400 hectares
of forest land belonging to Andhra Pradesh, and about
100 hectares of forest land belonging to the Tirumala
Tirupati Devasthanam.
Staff Reporter

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 51

 A
fter deforestation,
forest fires are the
First report
most important cause
Disaster of habitat destruction.
Forest fires are worldwide seasonal
occurrences, and can be prevented
by adequate measures; they usually
occur in the dry months from
March to May in india when there
is no rain and dry leaves and twigs
litter the forest floor. Alerts are
provided by the National remote
sensing Centre, Hyderabad to the
Central forest departments, which
are then sent to the respective state
forest departments.
The incidenT: the fire in
seshachalam was noticed by the
tirumala tirupati Devasthanam
(ttD) officials on the 18th of
March in a part of their forest,
though satellite images show that
the fire actually broke out on the
17th. s B L Misra, the special
principal Chief Conservator of
Forests, Andhra pradesh, said
that the alerts are published on
the website of the state forest
department and can be accessed
by the forest officials. “it is difficult
to say whether the alert for this
particular fire was received by
the concerned officials,” he
said. Janik ramaiyya, the forest
ranger of ttD, said, “sandalwood
smugglers set the forest on fire in
order to divert attention and the
high wind velocity spread the fire
far and wide.”
Consequently, the ttD
officials extinguished the fire in
their section of the forest; ttD
has its own fire fighting squad of
30-40 members, employed as
daily wage workers. According
to a high placed official in the
Central government, only the
fire in the ttD forest was taken
52 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
care of while the fire in the state
forest continued to burn. By the
morning of the 19th, the fire had
spread to a much larger area of
the state forest. the state officials
contacted the Forest Department at
the Centre, and by the time a crisis
management group, comprising
of secretary level officials from
the National Disaster relief Force,
Ministry of environment and
Forest, and the Army, Navy and Air
Force devised a plan, the fire had
spread to the crown canopy.
A two pronged strategy was
used to fight the fire. Ground
forces–consisting of primarily the
fire fighting personnel from the
state department and the Army,
were deployed to attack the fire
in the lower reaches. on 20th
March, two Mi-17 helicopters
were pressed into service to douse
the fire which had reached tree
tops. the helicopters undertook
20-22 sorties with water from
the papavinasham Dam, which is
about 0.5 km away, with a 3000
lt specialised fire fighting bucket
attached to each helicopter. this
helped control the fire, but it was
not extinguished. the operation
continued till the 21st March,
when it was finally extinguished.
the quick response by the Central
forces–NDrF, civil defence, armed
forces–helped put out the raging
fire, but the cause is currently
under investigation as is the
assessment of the damage.
LegaL provisions:
setting a forest on fire, or even
leaving a fire burning near a forest
is a punishable offence according
the forest protection rules of india.
sections 26, 33 and 79 of the
indian Forest Act 1927 deal with
fires in reserve forests. Under its
provisions, a minimum fine of
rs 500, imprisonment up to six
months or both will be imposed in
case a person sets fire to a reserved
forest. the Wildlife protection Act
1972 ups the ante by identifying a
fine of rs 25,000, imprisonment
for a maximum of three years or
both in case of fires caused in a
sanctuary or reserved forest.
way forward:
Considering the fact that the region
is flushed with funds, tirupathi
being the most sought after
religious destination of the nation,
protecting mount tirulmala’s
evergreen forests should have
been a cakewalk. Yet, not only
were the state forces pulled into
action, the central government
and even the army was involved
in fire dousing. the lowly terrains
of Bihar’s Himalayan tract might
not beget this haloed treatment;
everything turning officially
‘inaccessible’ in such realms.
the protection of forests
from fires is a task that can be
easily ordained. First, equipment
and qualified personnel can
be employed for keeping the
vigil—instant action can
avoid time lags. there must be
adequate preparedness measures
for dry seasons and reliable
communication and mobility
mechanisms must be put in place.
setting up control rooms, which
receive data from satellites and
digital maps, already common in
several countries, can be used
to outline forest zones. Also, fire
lines—artificially created gaps in
the forest, which may be divided
into grids of 2-2.5 km, should be
created during the dry season as
these are simple mechanism that
can check the advance of a fire.
Fire towers must be adequately
manned, and controlled burning
should be carried out to check
forest floor litter. people around
the forest boundaries can be
employed through shramdaan-like
schemes to regularly clear the fire
lines. Fire lines when cleared of
India’s bee industry
calls for attention
With inadequate training, poor pest management, and lack of quality
marketing facilities, the 60 million USD honey industry’s growth is
hampered. With a potential for annual exports growth pegged at 20 per
cent, honey can be a good income source for agriculturists.
A
decade ago,
Kuntanahalli, a village
in Doddabalapur taluk,
located 55 kms to the
North West of Bangalore, was
laden with bountiful produce
throughout the year. As the
Doddabalur town changed into a
small industrial hub, the villagers
started selling agricultural land
while many quit farming. this in
turn severely affected the apiary
activity in the region. Lakshman
Gowda, 51, a marginal farmer in
Kuntanahalli recalls yields of 10-12
kgs of honey per year, per beehive
box, a decade ago, from the
ApisCerana, an Asiatic honeybee
variety suitable for domestication.
However, today, it yields him just
one third (3-4 kgs) with the same
variety in the same place.
Gowda, a third-generation
apiculturist, practices beekeeping
as a secondary activity, where
the undergrowth can double up as
forest roads. Moreover, equipment
like fire beaters to control minor
fires and JCBs to cut the branches
to restrict the spread of the fire
must be made available. the dense
areas of the forest which cannot
be reached on ground can be
agriculture is his main source of
income. He seems to be well aware
of the reasons for the decline. “the
bees are not getting enough food.
the loss of vegetation, the lesser
cultivation of high-nectar yielding
flower varieties, and excessive
use of toxic pesticides are some
of the reasons. this also results in
reduction of honeybees to pollinate
crops,” Gowda said. However,
this has not deterred Gowda from
becoming a model farmer who
now trains other villagers for
a secondary livelihood option
through beekeeping. He earns
about rs one lakh annually just
through honey production.
Another farmer, Medappa
Gowda from Madikeri, a hill
station town in Karnataka, cites
deforestation as the reason for
the decline in honey production.
ApisDorsata, known as rock bees
are usually found in the forest
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014
identified as ‘maximum damage
areas’. Forest fires can also be
prevented by restricting the entry
of common public during the dry
season and watch towers manned
to have an unobstructed view. And,
all of these can be enabled, atleast
for this region, by the ttD.
region and they are larger in size
compared to ApisCerana. Also,
they can travel a longer distance
compared to the latter that can
fly to just about 2 kms in search
of nectar. it is estimated that
two-third of the honey produced in
india comes from the ApisDorsata
species.
Dr N s Bhat, senior scientist,
Department of Apiculture,
University of Agricultural sciences,
GKVK, Bangalore says, honey bees
are not resistant to most pesticides
sprayed to save crops. “Many bees
are killed by (toxic) pesticides,
resulting in reduced yield of crops
dependent on bee pollination. in
particular, the beehives cannot
survive in the cotton and red gram
growing regions as excessive
pesticides are used for these two
crops.”
According to the ‘standing
Committee report (Goi) on
53
 Fig. 1: Top 10 natural honey exporting country
250000
First report
Agriculture
Value in (‘000USD)
200000
150000
100000
50000
0
Year 2012
Chemical and Fertilizer’, 2013,
presented in the Lok sabha by
the Ministry of Chemicals and
Fertilizers, Goi, there seems to be a
silver lining in the consumption of
chemical pesticides in Karnataka,
which has reportedly declined
from 1,588 metric tones in terms of
technical grade in 2007-08 to 1272
metric tonnes in 2011-12. Also
heartwarming is the fact that the
use of bio-pesticides across the
country, including Karnataka has
increased from a mere 123 metric
tonnes in 1994-95 to 8,110 metric
tonnes in 2011-12.
Dr Bhat cites other reasons
which are hampering the growth
and production of honey in the
country. “increasing cost of
beehive box, inadequate and
unsystematic training programmes,
and lack of quality control
measures are an impediment to the
growth of the honey industry,” Bhat
said. “the present training modules
(for beekeeping) of the government
are nothing but awareness
programmes. there need to be a
more concentrated effort to engage
young farmers and train them
adequately to suit the change in
living environment,” Bhat added.
selection of good apiary sites,
breeding of good quality bees, and
proper beehive management are
key elements to ensure success in
beekeeping.
the Department of Commerce,
54 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
Countries Argentina
China
Germany
New Zealand
source: ApeDA Mexico
Spain
Canada
India
Hungary
Brazil
Ministry of Commerce and
industry, Goi, authorised the
Agricultural and processed Food
products export Development
Authority (ApeDA) to monitor the
quality of honey and check for
residues of drugs (antibiotics),
pesticides, and heavy metals
in raw honey; at the honey
processing unit; and in processed/
packaged honey. in 2011,
european economic Commission
(eeC) banned the import of indian
honey for 18 months until strong
quality control measures were
put in place. Maintaining quality
and checking for standards is
a concern even in the domestic
market. standards for honey have
been prescribed under prevention
of Food Adulteration (pFA) rules,
1955 as under.
■ No pesticide residues or
antibiotics are allowed in honey.
■ Moisture level -not more than
25 per cent by mass ■ Acidity
(expressed as formic acid)- Not
more than 0.2 per cent by mass
■ Lead- Not more than 2.5 ppm
■ Copper- Not more than 30.0
ppm ■ Mercury- Not more than
1.0 ppm (*ppm - parts per million)
there are around seven lakh
registered beekeepers in india.
According to the National Bee
Board, Government of india, as
on 31 July, 2013, there were 6.97
lakh beekeepers (individuals,
beekeeping societies, companies
ApisCerana
domesticated for
honey production
at the University
of Agricultural
Sciences, Bangalore.
and firms) with more than 10
registered bee colonies. According
to the Ministry of Micro, small &
Medium enterprises, in 2012-13
india produced a total of 0.92
lakh metric tonnes of honey.
Meanwhile, it was 1.12 lakh
metric tonnes during 2010-11
and 0.84 during 2011-12. Uttar
pradesh, Bihar, rajasthan,
punjab, Arunachal pradesh and
Karnataka are among the top honey
producing states.
there is vast potential for
beekeeping in the country and
india is one of the major exporting
countries of natural honey.
According to ApeDA export
report-2012, india ranks at number
8, exporting around 25,000 metric
tonnes of honey to countries like
Us, Germany, Japan, France and
saudi Arabia, earning revenue of
66.8 million UsD. india’s honey
exports contribute to around 4 per
cent of the world exports. (Fig 1)
According to ApeDA, the honey
exports have registered a growth
of 11 per cent during 2012-13 and
have the potential to grow at 20 per
cent annually if the quality controls
are maintained and the resource
potentials are exploited.
Dr V sivaram, Associate
professor, Department of Botany,

Bangalore University, in his
report, ‘status, prospects and
strategies for development of
organic beekeeping in south Asian
countries’, 2012, published in
Apiservices, the beekeeping portal,
notes that, lack of knowledge of
scientific beekeeping management
practices, shortage of trained
and qualified manpower, lack of
coordination between beekeeping
r & D organisations /universities in
south Asia, insufficient man power
for multiplication and distribution
of bee colonies, are the main
constraints of beekeeping industry.
Dr t p rajendran, Assistant
Director General (plant protection),
indian Council of Agricultural
research, also a member of the
National Bee Board said, “the
Board is undertaking training
programmes to bridge the
knowledge gap, handle diseases
and pests and also persuading
the farmers to use pesticides
that are less harmful to bees at
recommended concentrations.”
to have a sustainable livelihood
through beekeeping, sivaram
recommends capacity building
and awareness programmes,
preparation of extensive floral
calendars for different ecological
zones, encouragement for
migratory beekeeping practices
for higher honey production and
organising regular honey festivals,
seminars and conferences to
create awareness among farmers,
beekeepers and honey traders.
story and photo Prabhu M

Organic farming in
Vidarbha
A cost benefit analysis of organic cotton farming vs Bt cotton farming in
Vidarbha region of Maharashtra reveals that the former is cost effective,
more profitable and high-yielding. But, not many farmers prefer organic
farming due to lack of governmental support.

F
or this septuagenarian of cotton farmers is common in the Table 1a: State wise cotton
farmer, practicing organic Vidarbha region - and Maniklal’s area (lakh ha)
farming is a way of life. reticence to discuss the issue is State 2003-04 2007-08 2012-13
punjab 4.52 6.04 5.06
At 76, Maniklal Mantri, perplexing. “technology has made Haryana 5.26 4.83 6.14
starts work at 8 in the morning people lazy. organic farming is a rajasthan 3.44 3.69 4.50
traveling around 12 km on his laborious task and hence it drives NORTH ZONE 13.32 14.56 15.70
Gujarat 16.47 24.22 24.00
gearless-two-wheeler to reach people away. Nobody wants to Maharashtra 27.66 31.95 41.46
his farm, a borrowed tract of land collect gomutra (cow urine) and Madhya pradesh 5.91 6.30 6.08
CENTRAL ZONE 50.04 62.47 71.54
near his village in Utkhed located use it to control bollworms. people
Andhra pradesh 8.37 11.33 22.69
at Morshi taluka of Amravati care less about soil fertility and Karnataka 3.13 4.03 4.85
District in Maharashtra. Although environmental degradation,” he tamil Nadu 1.03 0.99 1.26
SOUTH ZONE 12.53 16.35 27.76
farmer suicides in Amravati district says. Maniklal, who claims to have
odisha 0.50 1.19
have dropped to 159 in 2013 as trained over 15,000 farmers on others 0.51 0.26 0.50
compared to 270 in 2006, suicide organic agriculture, crestfallenly TOTAL 76.30 94.14 117.73

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 55

 notes that not more than a handful
of them practice it.
First report
B
BT coTTon MarkeT:
Agriculture iindia is overwhelmingly a Bt
Cotton country today. According
to the Central institute of Cotton
rresearch annual report of 2013,
with the commercial release of Bt
hybrids in 2002, around 92 per
cent of the total cotton area of
117.73 lakh hectares are under Bt
as of last year. india continued to
maintain the largest area under
cotton and is the second largest
producer of cotton next to China
with 34 per cent of world area and
21 per cent of world production.
india produced around 356 lakh
bales in 2013 as compared to
mere 179 lakh bales in 2003-
04. As per the estimates of the
Cotton Advisory Board, Ministry
of textiles, the area under cotton
production has seen a steady
rise since 2003-04, increasing
from 76.30 lakh hectares to 118
lakh hectares in 2012-13 (table
1a,b & c). According to the textile
exchange Farm and Fibre report,
2012, india is the world’s biggest
producer of organic cotton and
accounts for 74 per cent of the
world’s organic cotton produce.
A German research
institute of organic agriculture,
Forschungsinstitut für
biologischen Landbau (FiBL)
notes that the large scale Bt Cotton
adaption across india and the
non-GM seed unavailability poses
a threat hindering the growth of
organic cultivation.
farM scenario: When
the farmers who complain of
dwindling productivity with the Bt
varieties were posed a question
as to why they do not practice
organic farming, they replied, “we
do not have information about
organic farming and indigenous
seeds are not available in the
local seed market.” some are
unaware of the subsidies given for
organic farming. the government
schemes and policies promoting
organic farming have not reached
them. “Farmers are not given a
choice. Desi seeds are out of the
market and are not sold in the
seed distribution centres. organic
cultivation is a sustainable way
of life and it should be
encouraged,” Kavitha Kuruganti of
Alliance for sustainable and
Holistic Agriculture opines. in a
study conducted in Vidharbha
region by our reporter, the profits
accrued to farmers cultivating
organic cotton were found to
be more than that of farmers
cultivating Bt Cotton.
table 2 clearly shows that the
cost of the cultivation in the case
of organic cultivation is lesser and
profits higher with better yield.
the yield of the farmer using Bt
Cotton seed in the rainfed areas
is reduced by half compared to
organic cultivation. Also, while Bt
Cotton farmers are running into
losses, organic farmers are making
a profit of rs 25,350 for the same
period.
A Monsanto (Us based
agricultural biotechnology
corporation that stock Bt Cotton
seeds) official, however, claims
that the variation in yield could
be because the farmers have not
maintained the best practices.
“even a change in the plant
population size (number of plants
in a given area), excessive use of

Table 1b: State wise cotton Table 1c: State wise cotton
production (lakh bales) productivity (kg/ha)
State 2003-04 2007-08 2012-13 State 2003-04 2007-08 2012-13 “the productivity is
punjab 10.35 20.00 19.00 punjab 389.27 562.91 562.02 higher in the Northern
Haryana 11.50 15.00 24.00 Haryana 371.67 527.95 689.62 region compared to
Central and southern
rajasthan 9.15 9.00 16.00 rajasthan 452.18 414.63 632.79
region because, cotton
NORTH ZONE 31.00 44.00 59.00 NORTH ZONE 398.64 513.74 630.83
cultivation is predomi-
Gujarat 50.00 110.00 85.00 Gujarat 516.09 772.09 688.51
nantly on irrigated land
Maharashtra 31.00 62.00 74.00 Maharashtra 190.53 329.89 305.30
in North and the Bt
Madhya pradesh 19.65 20.00 18.00 Madhya pradesh 565.23 539.68 433.33 varieties perform better
CENTRAL ZONE 100.65 192.00 177.00 CENTRAL ZONE 341.94 522.49 461.71 on irrigated lands. Also,
Andhra pradesh 27.40 46.00 72.00 Andhra pradesh 556.51 690.20 506.96 they are not subjected to
Karnataka 4.20 8.00 12.00 Karnataka 228.12 337.47 430.35 moisture stress unlike
tamil Nadu 3.75 4.00 5.00 tamil Nadu 618.93 686.87 831.33 in Central and south,”
SOUTH ZONE 35.35 58.00 89.00 SOUTH ZONE 479.61 603.06 507.03 —Blaise Desouza,
odisha 3.00 odisha 0.00 417.57 principal scientist &
others 1.00 1.00 2.00 INDIA 398.82 554.39 496.39 Head, Division of Crop
TOTAL 168.00 295.00 330.00 production, Central
Loose cotton 11.00 12.00 26.10 institute for Cotton
Note: 2011-12 and 2012-13 are provisional;
GRAND TOTAL 179.00 307.00 356.10 research.
source: Cotton Advisory Board as on 23:01:2013

56 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

Table 2: Cost benefit analysis 2012, Vidarbha, Maharashtra but, he said, lack of resourceful
FIeld Study MOnSantO’S claIM support from the government
Hybrid Bt Cotton Non Bt Hybrid Bt Cotton seeds makes him hesitant to practice
(organic)
it. “somebody in the government
irrigated rainfed Non irrigated rainfed
irrigated needs to guide me. otherwise, it
Farmer Govardan Manohar Maniklal is difficult for me to believe.” With
Gulaxe Gulaxe Mantri
dwindling profits, Gulaxe said,
Village pimpalkhuta pimpalkhuta Utkhed
Variety rashi ii Ankur 09 NH 416 people in the village have resorted
Distance between plants 7 inch 4-5 inch 6 inch to selling land and he assists them
Land preparation 1,300.00 1,950.00 1,950.00 2,700.00 2,700.00 in selling it for a marginal profit.
(includes ploughing,
cleaning stubbles, har- in contrast, Dr. M V Venugopalan,
rowing, levelling, ridges principal scientist at Central
and furrows, etc.)
Manual (labour+cart) (650*2) - (500+1450)
institute of Cotton research,
Mechanised (650*2) (650*3) - - - Nagpur says, the demand for the
(tractor+labour) organic seeds has to come from
sowing (manual) 500 500 500 452 455
the farming communities and
seed treatment cost 0 0 200 - -
only then can they produce more
Cotton seeds 2325 2850 420 1,543.00 1,583.00
varieties and sell in the market.
travel cost to obtain seeds 80 80 80 - -
intercultivation/prepar- 800 800 400 - - “We cannot simply produce
ing of bunds organic seeds when there are no
Fertilizers 65001 48002 13503 3,019.00 2,451.00 buyers. it is more of a local issue
Labour cost for fertilizer 1000 1000 1500 1,000.00 1,000.00
application and farming communities have to
irrigation (water+power) 1000 - - 500 - work in groups and believe in the
total cost of weeding 5250 5000 4000 3,279.00 2,700.00 concept of organic farming during
Labour+weedicide
the transition phase of three years.
sucking pest labour 1800 1000 - 1,145.00 1,780.00
only then can we produce more
insecticide sprays/ 4200 3000 150
organic matters such seeds,” Venugopalan said.
Micro-nutrient spray 360 500 - 183 500 Mantri, who is a great follower
Yield/ acre 10 5 10 7 7 of Gandhian principles calls for
Labour-picking rate / 600 700 300 345 800
quintal farmers to care for the environment
total cost for picking 6000 3500 3000 2,415.00 5,600.00 and practice organic farming.
transportation charges 1500 750 1000 - - “the process might be laborious,
to market but organic cultivation supports
Commission 1000 500 100 - -
sustainable farm practices and
total cost of cultivation 30,455.00 24,730.00 14,650.00 16,236.00 18,769.00
(rs. / ac) helps in reducing contamination
Average market rate 3,800.00 3,800.00 4,000.00 3,900.00 3,900.00 of the earth and increases the
(rs. / qtl.)
quality of our health.” the state
total revenue (rs. / ac) 38,000.00 19,000.00 40,000.00 27,300.00 27,300.00
of Andhra pradesh and Karnataka
income/ loss 7,545.00 -5,730.00 25,350.00 11,064.00 8,531.00
have seen a sharp rise in the area
1. DAp 3 bags rs 3750, potash 4 bags rs 1800, Urea rs 600, Magnesium rs 350 2. DAp 2 bags rs

2500, potash 3 bags rs 1350, Urea rs 600, Magnesium rs 350 3. Jeevamruth rs 150, Jaivik Jal rs under Bt Cotton cultivation since
100, 2 kg Jaggery rs 100, Cow dung (6 stages) rs 1000 2003-04 followed by Maharashtra
Note: Cost calculated for Kharif 2012; Field study was undertaken during February 2013. and Gujarat in the Central region.
in fact, Andhra’s whopping 170
fertilizer and other aspects can p, regional sales manager of per cent increase under Bt Cotton
affect the yield. if the organic Monsanto (solapur region) said. draws attention to the fact that
variety is yielding higher profits, Govardan Gulaxe, a Bt Cotton failure of Bt Cotton may spell doom
nobody is stopping the farmers farmer, is keen to make good for many.
from practicing it,” srikant profits through organic farming; story and photo Prabhu M

GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 57

First report
Agriculture
Karnataka bans
Mahyco seeds
Mahyco, one of the largest private sector seed companies in India,
faces a ban following the sale of spurious Bt Cotton seeds to
farmers. Karnataka failed to recognise early warnings and now over
54,000 farmers are put to distress.
C
hennappa
Channabasappa
Gudli, 57, a farmer
cultivating cotton
crop for the past
12 years in shiggaon taluk of
Haveri district in North Karnataka,
predominantly a rainfed region,
suffered a huge set back with his
cotton crop yield reducing to less
than one third during Kharif 2013.
Buoyed by the higher returns
during the previous years, Gudli
bought 8 packets of Kanaka
varieties of Bt Cotton seed sold
by the Maharashtra Hybrid seeds
Company (Mahyco) at a premium
of 30 per cent on the maximum
retail price of rs 930 per packet
of 450 gms. “i did not foresee any
foul play in the seed sale during
the initial days. However, as
days passed and the pest attack
increased, the expenses with
spraying pesticides increased too,
affecting the plant growth.” Gudli
said. At the end of the season,
instead of getting 10-12 quintals
of cotton per acre as expected
by him based on previous years’
yield, Gudli got only three quintal
this year. to his plight, Guldi has
incurred a loan of rs two lakh (at
rs 25,000 per acre) to cultivate
58 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
the crop on his eight acres of land,
at 4 per cent interest rate from
a grameen bank. As on date, he
has not been able to repay the
loan. Like Gudli, several farmers
across various districts of the state
witnessed similar incidents. they
have joined hands and are seeking
action against the Company as the
seeds failed to give anything close
to the promised yields.
the state Agricultural
Department officials swung into
action to check the quality of the
seeds (MrC- 7351 and Nikki plus),
and formed field inspection teams
comprising officials from the
revenue Department, Agricultural
Department, Mahyco and
scientists from state agricultural
universities. “the Bt Cotton
hybrids sold by Mayhco failed to
give the expected yields during
Kharif 2013. the company has
clearly violated the instructions
given by Government of india at
the time of issue of permission of
commercial sale. Hence we are
imposing a ban on sale of such
seeds,” B K Dharmarajan, Director
of Department of Agriculture,
(GoK) said.
deparTMenT’s roLe:
the Department of Agriculture,
GoK, claims that it is not directly
involved either in recommending
any particular Bt Cotton hybrids,
or in the sales - farmers select the
seed variety as per their choice.
the Department only maintains
the quality control aspects. the
seed supply agencies are required
to supply the literature containing
specific features of crops/varieties,
cultivation practices to be followed
According to the
Agriculture Department,
Government of Karnataka
(GoK) officials, during
Kharif 2013, Mahyco had
sold 5.63 lakh packets of
MRC-7351 and Nikki Plus
Bt Cotton hybrid seeds
in Karnataka which was
cultivated in 1.39 lakh
hectares and 0.12 lakh
hectares, respectively.

by farmers, yield potentiality,
tolerance or resistance for different
pests and diseases for the benefit
of farmers
LegaL provisions:
As per section 7 of the seed Act,
1966, and rule 7 of seed rules
1968, the seed supplying company
is responsible for the accuracy of
the details contained in the label
(packet). While the said variety of
seed is expected to perform in the
fields as per the details of the label,
every seed company is required to
display a label regarding minimum
germination percentage, genetic
purity and other aspects on the
seed containers.
irreguLariTies
reveaLed in The
inspecTion reporT:
the order issued by the Agriculture
Department, GoK, on 22 March
The Bt Cotton
hybrids sold by
Mayhco failed to give
the expected yields
during Kharif 2013
2014, banning the sale of Bt Cotton
seeds by Mayhco, based on the
scrutiny report submitted by the
committee formed to ascertain
the lapses, notes a number of
irregularities which include:
■ Variation in the shape and size
of the cotton bolls (not as per the
characteristic defined)
■ Contains less number of bolls
■ plant were different from each
other and also different from that of
MrC-7351
■ the company failed to conduct
any awareness campaign or
training programmes for effective
pest management.
this apart, the order also
stated that the literature issued
along with the seed containers
was misleading. “the literature
published and supplied along with
the seed containers by Mahyco
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014
indicates that MrC-7351 has
tolerance for sucking pests, but
under field observation, this
variety was found to be more
susceptible to sucking pest
compared to other Bt hybrids
grown under the same set of field
conditions. Also MrC-7351 was
more susceptible to mirid bug and
cotton midge…,” the report said.
post these findings, the Agriculture
Department, GoK, blacklisted the
company.
exTenT of daMage.
As per the findings of the
committee comprising of
agricultural experts and deputy
commissioners of all seven
affected districts, it was observed
that 58,195 hectares of Bt Cotton
area have suffered crop yield loss
of more than 50 per cent covered
in 1983 villages involving 54,157
farmers in 7 districts of Haveri,
Belgaum, Davangere, Chitradurga,
Dharwad, Bellary and Gadag.
“Mahyco is solely responsible
for the lapses observed in the
field study. they have offered a
compensation of rs 10 crores
as against the estimated loss
of rs 230 crores. However the
state government has refused
the compensation. instead, it has
decided to pay farmers rs 6,000
per ha compensation which could
cost more than rs 35 crore to the
state exchequer,” Dharmarajan
said. this is not the first time the
company is facing trouble. it had
encountered similar problems in
Andhra pradesh and Maharashtra.
in 2012, Maharashtra banned
Mahyco’s Bt Cotton seeds on
charges of hoarding of seeds,
black marketing, and for providing
incorrect information.
story and photo Prabhu M
59
Report watch

Status of Disaster
Management in India
Disaster management in India has undergone substantive changes in its
composition, nature and policy. The Disaster Management Act, 2005,
provides for setting up of a National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA), amongst various other provisions. The 2014 Parliamentary
Standing Committee Report cites that the Authority, however, is not
functioning optimally and is in urgent need of a new action plan.

I
ndia’s hazard profile is dependent on
the geo-climatic conditions and topo-
graphic features, and the underlying
vulnerabilities cause annual disasters
of varying degrees like floods, droughts,
cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, land-
slides, avalanches and forest fire in the country. It
is estimated that about 59 per cent of India’s land
area is prone to earthquakes and the Himalayas
and adjoining areas, northeast, parts of Gujarat
and Andaman Nicobar Islands are seismically
most active. According to the Natural Disaster
Management Division of the Ministry of Agri-
culture, GoI, 33 per cent of India’s area receives
rainfall less than 750 mm making it chronically
drought prone, while 35 per cent receives rain-
fall between 750-1125 mm and is assigned the
drought prone status—thus a total of 68 per cent
area of the country is prone to drought in varying
degrees. Out of 40 million hectares of flood prone
area in the county, around 7.5 million hectares
are affected every year by recurring floods. While
flood occurs in almost all river basins in India,
large parts of states such as Assam, Bihar, Gujarat,
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are affected
almost every year. About 12 per cent land is prone
to flood and river erosion; and hilly areas are at risk
from landslides and avalanches. Approximately
71 per cent (5300 km) of the 7516 km long coast
of India is susceptible to cyclones. Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil
Nadu and Puducherry are affected periodically
due to cyclones. According to the annual report
(2012-13) of Ministry of Home Affairs, out of 35
states and union territories in the country, 27 are
disaster prone.
The livelihood security of the coastal communi-
ties and ecological security of the coastal zones of
India are already under stress due to high popula-
tion density, rapid urbanisation and industrial
development, high rate of coastal environmental
degradation and frequent occurrence of natural
disasters such as cyclones and storms. The prob-
lem is going to be further aggravated by a rise in
sea level due to global warming. The coastal zone
in India, particularly the east coast is vulnerable
to hydrometeorological hazards such as cyclones,
floods and geophysical hazards like the tsunami.
Classifying Disasters
Disasters are classified as ‘natural’, or ‘human-
induced’. For example, disasters caused by floods,
droughts, tidal waves and earth tremors are
generally considered natural. Disasters caused by

60 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you

 Development cannot be sustainable unless disaster mitigation
is built into the development process. Therefore, ‘disaster
management’ is not confined to ‘disaster response’ alone.
chemical or industrial accidents, environmental
pollution, transport accidents and political unrest
are classified as ‘human induced’ since they are
the direct result of human action. A modern and
social understanding of disasters, however, views
this distinction as artificial since most disasters
result from the action or inaction of people and
their social and economic structures. Fire inci-
dents, industrial accidents and other manmade
disasters involving chemical, biological and
radioactive materials are additional hazards due
to socio- economic factors. Due to the fast pace of
urbanisation, modernisation and industrialisa-
tion, India is considerably vulnerable to various
man-made disasters and the threats of manmade
and technological disasters have also increased
substantially as modern industrial units are
processing, storing and transporting hazardous
chemicals and hazardous materials.
Need for Mitigation
All these disasters underscore the need for
strengthening mitigation, preparedness and
response measures. The high disaster risk and
exposure of millions of people in India makes it
imperative that a national campaign on mission
mode is launched to strengthen disaster prepar-
edness, prevention and mitigation efforts in India.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the
basic responsibility for undertaking rescue, relief
and rehabilitation measures in the event of a dis-
aster rests with the state governments. The Central
government supplements the efforts of the state by
providing logistic and financial support in case
of severe natural calamities. The government has
brought about a change in the approach to disaster
management from a relief-centric to a holistic and
integrated approach covering the entire gamut of
disasters encompassing prevention, mitigation,
preparedness, response, relief, reconstruction and
rehabilitation. The approach is based on the con-
viction that development cannot be sustainable
unless disaster mitigation is built into the develop-
ment process. Therefore, ‘disaster management’ is
not confined to ‘disaster response’ alone.
The Disaster Management Act
The Indian government has enacted the Disaster
Management (DM) Act in 2005 which defines
disaster as “a catastrophe, mishap, calamity
or grave occurrence in any area, arising from
natural or man-made causes, or by accident or
negligence which results in substantial loss of life
or human suffering or damage to, and destruc-
tion of property, or damage to, or degradation of,
environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude
as to be beyond the coping capacity of the com-
munity of the affected area”.
Institutional Mechanism
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 lays down
the institutional mechanism for drawing up and
monitoring the implementation of the disaster
management plans, ensuring measures by vari-
ous wings of the government for prevention and
mitigation of the effects of disasters and prompt
response to any disaster situation. The Ministry
of Home Affairs constituted a task force to gather
information from the states and other stakehold-
ers on their perception in implementation of the
Disaster Management Act 2005, to study the
global best practices, to hold consultations with
stakeholders and to suggest necessary modi-
fications, if any, in the Act. The said task force
submitted its report, and its recommendations are
under consideration of the government.
The Act also provides for setting up of National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under
the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, state dis-
aster management authorities (SDMAs) under the
chairmanship of chief ministers and district disas-
ter management authorities (DDMAs) under the
chairmanship of collectors/ district magistrates/
deputy commissioners. The Act further provides
for the constitution of a National Executive Com-
mittee (NEC), headed by Union Home Secretary,
the National Institute of Disaster Management
(NIDM) and National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF). It also provides for the concerned min-
istries and departments to draw up their own
disaster management plans in accordance with the
Geography and You  March-April 2014 61
national plan. The Act also provides for a specific
role for local bodies in disaster management.
The beginnings of an institutional structure for
disaster management can be traced to the Brit-
ish period following the series of disasters such
as famines of 1900, 1905, 1907 and 1943, and the
Bihar-Nepal earthquake of 1937. Over the past cen-
tury, disaster management in India has undergone
substantive changes in its composition, nature and
policy. During the British administration, relief
departments were set up for emergencies during
disasters. Such an activity-based setup with a reac-
tive approach was functional only during the post
disaster scenarios. The policy was relief-oriented
and activities included designing the relief codes
and initialising food for work programmes. Post-
Independence, the task for managing disasters
continued to rest with the relief commissioners in
each state, who functioned under the central relief
commissioner, with their role limited to delegation
of relief material and money in the affected areas.
Every five-year plan addressed flood disasters
under ‘Irrigation, Command Area Development
and Flood Control’. The disaster management
structure was thus activity-based and functioned
under relief departments.
A permanent and institutionalised setup
began during 1990s with the set up of a disaster
management cell under the Central Ministry
of Agriculture, following the declaration of the
decade of 1990 as the ‘International Decade for
Natural Disaster Reduction’ (IDNDR) by the
UN General Assembly. Following a series of
disasters such as Latur Earthquake (1993), Malpa
Landslide (1994), Orissa Super Cyclone (1999)
and Bhuj Earthquake (2001), a committee under
the chairmanship of J C Pant, Secretary, Ministry
of Agriculture was constituted for drawing up a
systematic, comprehensive and holistic approach
towards disasters. There was a shift in policy from
an approach of relief through financial aid to a
holistic one for addressing disaster management.
Consequently, the disaster management division
was shifted to the Ministry of Home Affairs and
a hierarchical structure for disaster management
evolved in India.
the role of nDMa
The NDMA is mandated to perform the following
functions:
■ Approve the National Plan; ■ Approve plans
prepared by the ministries or departments of
62 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
the Indian government in accordance with the
National Plan; ■ Lay down guidelines to be fol-
lowed by the state authorities in drawing up the
state plan; ■ Lay down guidelines to be followed
by the different ministries or departments of the
Indian government for the purpose of integrat-
ing the measures for prevention of disaster or the
mitigation of its effects in their development plans
and projects; ■ Coordinate the enforcement and
implementation of the policy and plan for disaster
management; ■ Recommend provision of funds
for the purpose of mitigation; ■ Provide such sup-
port to other countries affected by major disasters
as may be determined by the Central government;
■ Take such other measures for the prevention of
disaster, or the mitigation, or preparedness and
capacity building for dealing with the threatening
disaster situation or disaster as it may consider
necessary, and; ■ Lay down broad policies and
guidelines for the functioning of the NIDM.
nDMa’s failures
The 2014 parliamentary Standing Committee is
surprised that despite NDMA being constituted
in 2006 under the Disaster Management Act,
2005, it has not framed its business rules pertain-
ing to internal conduct of NDMA and it is only
after the observation of Comptroller and Auditer
General (C&AG) that in an internal meeting of
NDMA a decision was taken to follow the provi-
sions of Manual of Office Procedure of the Indian
Government.
The c&aG in its report observed that the Dis-
aster Management Act provided for the NDMA
to constitute an advisory committee consisting
of experts in the field of disaster management,
having practical experience of disaster manage-
ment at the national, state or district level to make
recommendations on different aspects of disaster
management. The advisory committee with 12
members was constituted in June 2007, the term
being initially fixed for a period of two years fol-
lowed by an extension of a year which expired
on 14 June 2010. NDMA functioned without the
services of the advisory committee thereafter.
The c&aG made its observation that the Work-
ing Group of Planning Commission in December
2006 recommended various projects to be taken
up by NDMA during the 11th Five Year Plan for
disaster management categorised as:
■ Projects on vulnerability assessment and
microzonation of major cities; ■ Mitigation
 in cases of disasters of severe magnitude, nDMa should
recommend relief in repayment of loans or for grant of fresh
loans to the persons affected by disasters .
Projects; ■ Communication network projects,
and; ■ Other projects.
The performance of the NDMA in terms of
project implementation has been abysmal. Out of
10 projects which were identified during the 11th
Five Year Plan, four are yet to be approved and one
project i.e. National Earthquake Risk Mitigation
Project has been approved on 5th April, 2013.
Out of the remaining five projects which were
sanctioned during 11th Five Year Plan, only one
project viz. micro-zonation of major cities has
been completed and the remaining four are still
under various stages of implementation. This is
a sorry state of working of the NDMA which has
been mandated to perform functions relating to
disaster management.
The disaster Management act, 2005 provides
for recommending provision of funds for the pur-
pose of mitigation. In cases of disasters of severe
magnitude, NDMA should recommend relief in
repayment of loans or for grant of fresh loans to the
persons affected by disasters on such concessional
terms as may be appropriate. Till 2012, NDMA
had not initiated any action for recommending
relief in repayment of loans or for grant of fresh
loans to the persons affected by disaster.
The c&aG observed that as per extant GoI rules
for appointing consultants, the terms of reference
(ToR) of consultants should be prepared which
include precise statement of objectives; tasks to be
carried out; schedule for completion of tasks and
final outputs that will be required of them. It was
noted that NDMA appointed 13 consultants in
different areas of specialisation. They were how-
ever engaged in day to day work in NDMA with
no specified tasks assigned. Their tenures were
also renewed routinely.
reCoMMenDations
The parliamentary committee is of the view that
the Government must give due consideration
to strengthen the district disaster management
authority so that the district authority is in a position
to act as the first effective responder. The Commit-
tee also views that the Disaster Risk Reduction
Programme must be implemented at the grassroot
level keeping in view that the district collector
administers Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee scheme (MNREGA)and
other land related programmes. District Disaster
Management Authorities (DDMAs) should try
to fill up vacancies on a regular basis and calls for
an organisational structure at the district level to
address disaster management in a holistic manner.
The committee acclaims the role of National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in combating
the major disasters occurring in the country
including the Uttarakhand episode. To bring
continuity into the system, the Committee rec-
ommends that the tenure of experienced NDRF
personnel be extended beyond normal deputation
period of 5 years to 7-10 years.
The committee is of the view that NIDM should
act as centre for excellence so far as capacity
building for effective disaster management is con-
cerned. The Committee is of the view that NIDM
should function as an autonomous body in respect
of its entrusted activities and human resource
practice and not as a subordinate organisation of
either NDMA or MHA.
The committee further believes that informa-
tion and training on ways to better respond to and
mitigate disasters to the responders should go a
long way in building the capacity and resilience
of the country to reduce and prevent disasters.
Training is an integral part of capacity building,
as trained personnel respond much better to
different disasters and appreciate the need for pre-
ventive measures. Professional training in disaster
management should be built into the existing ped-
agogic research and education. Specialised courses
for disaster management may also be developed
by universities and professional teaching institu-
tions, and disaster management should be treated
as a distinct academic and professional discipline.
The Committee recommends that NIDM may be
entrusted with this task. Specific components in
professional and specialised courses like medicine,
nursing, engineering, environmental sciences,
architecture, and town and country planning
GeoGraphy and you  March-april 2014 63
 it is important that globally practiced mitigation efforts of
the identified high hazard zones must be fully supported and
funded by union government.
could also find a place in the curriculum.
capacity building should not be limited to
professionals and personnel involved in disaster
management, but should also focus on building
the knowledge, attitude and skills of a community
to cope with the effects of disasters. Capacity
building for effective disaster management there-
fore needs to be linked to the community and
local level responders on one hand and also to
the institutional mechanism of the state and the
nation on the other. Satellite imagery has become
an important tool for decision makers in getting
alerts for disasters and in assessing the situation
pre and post disaster. These capabilities need
further refinement and intensification to enable
functionaries at the district level to take appropri-
ate and timely decisions. Therefore, the concerned
departments viz., science and technology, earth
sciences and space research organisations need to
be strengthened to provide advanced and effective
information on disasters. It is also necessary to
create a national platform for sharing, using and
disseminating the data.
The committee is also of the view that training
modules and calendars to upgrade the skills of
personnel, NGOs and communities engaged in
disaster prevention and mitigation should be
taken. The government should prioritise assess-
ment of structural and non-structural safety of
school buildings and identify necessary mitiga-
tive action to be included in the school safety
programme.
The committee notes that the Indian Mete-
orological Department (IMD) has prepared a
comprehensive proposal of Rs 360 crores for
an Integrated Himalayan Meteorological Pro-
gramme both for Western and Central Himalayas,
including locating adequate number of Doppler
radars and Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) for
monitoring hydro-meteorology, and submitted
the same to the Central Government/Planning
Commission for approval. It is also important that
globally practiced mitigation efforts of the identi-
fied high hazard zones must be fully supported
and funded by the Union Government.
64 March-april 2014  GeoGraphy and you
The committee feels the need for a road map
for reconstruction and rehabilitation and future
strategy to overcome such natural disasters. In this
connection, the following steps may be considered:
■ Need for a multi modal transport system; ■
Network of airstrips and heliports; ■ Adequate
number of air ambulances; ■ Network of godowns
with built in shelters for providing food security to
the stranded population; ■ Scientific extraction
of river bed material to ward off expansion of
river channels, and; ■ Augmentation of wireless,
satellite and ham communication systems and
installation of high performance computers and
Doppler Radars and Automatic Weather Stations
(AWS) and other systems.
The committee notes that the State Government
of Uttarakhand has constituted an expert group
to examine the issue of tourism and carrying
capacity of remote pilgrimage/tourist sites with a
view to issue guidelines in the matter. The Com-
mittee feels that registration of pilgrims should
also be examined.
enDnote
The Parliamentary Committee takes into account
the fact that in the incidents of the disasters of
similar magnitude in USA and Japan, the loss of
lives is much less as compared to that in India. The
Committee, therefore, observes that prevention
and mitigation should contribute to the lasting
improvement in evolving safety, and the same
should be integrated in disaster management.
The Committee is of the view that the National
Response Plan, National Human Resource and
Capacity Development Plan and Mitigation
Plans may be finalised at the earliest and adopted
by respective nodal ministries. The Committee
hopes that with all measures undertaken, the
government will ensure that hazards do not turn
into disasters.
Abstracted from: Report No. 178 of the Department-
related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home
Affairs, Rajya Sabha. The Report was presented to the
House on 19th February 2014.
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