Dear citizens,

In the wake of the Mumbai blasts, many questions have come to the fore. One pertinent question that has been raised by many citizens– did the disaster management plan (DMP) for Mumbai foresee and provide for an emergency like this?

DMP has been in debate for a long time in Pune. The first Pune plan was drafted in 1998 which was followed by demands by many action groups for its revision.

We found out what is happening about the Pune Disaster Management Plan.

Mr Arvindrao S. Surve, (Director, National Institute for Training & Research in Disaster Management of All India Institute of Local Self Governance) is in the process of updating the original plan. He is compiling the plans of various departments like railway, health, civil defence to make a comprehensive plan for the whole of Pune city including PMC, PCMC and the adjoining villages.
The plan envisages a department-wise and function-wise enumeration of action plan, both prior to and post disaster. The new plan will be backed by Geographic Information System (GIS) maps showing the geographical location of rivers, railways, forest, schools and colleges etc. This will enable the authorities to trace the exact location in the event of a disaster and even for the purpose of taking preventive measures.
According to Mr Surve, the plan will be prepared by November this year after which it will be freely accessible to the citizens.

Let's hope that the plan is much more than a bundle of papers destined to adorn the government departments.

To know more about the DMP, write in to us at citizencentre@virtualpune.com