Nitish suggests special force for disaster management

Patna, July 7 (UNI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has suggested the Centre for raising special battalion for disaster management and setting up a flood management organisation here.

Official sources said today Mr Kumar offered the suggestion during a meeting with Central Disaster Management Authority (CDMA) vice-chairman General N C Vij on Thursday.

The meeting was convened to discuss the measures for minimising the damages due to flood, earthquake and other natural calamities.

Maintaining that the state government was paying more attention to disater management, Mr Kumar assured of providing land and other infrastructural facilities for setting up the flood management centre in the state capital.

''Necessary infrastructures are being raised for monitoring the disaster management from the Chief Minister's residence itself, '' he added.

The Chief Minister said a ''Maha Sammelan'' of elected representatives of three-tier Panchayati Raj system would be held soon to create awareness among them about disaster management.

He said the CDMA should be more effective like the Election Commission and Special Protection Group (SPG).

Gen Viz informed during the meeting that a committee of 40 experts from IITs were working on disaster management and formulate policy and guidelines.

The committee was engaged in study of earthquake, flood, fire hailstorm and cyclonic storm, and technologies were being developed for forecast.

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