Maharashtra ready to face monsoon: Deshmukh

Mumbai, June 1 (UNI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today said the state administration and all other agencies were geared up to face any exigencies during this monsoon in the wake of the unprecendented rains and flooding of July 2005.

The Chief Minister said the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority (MSDMA) has been constituted and District Disaster Management Authorities are already in existence in 35 districts.

In addition, the Muncipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has launched a project 'Dial 108', a help line aimed at providing a single point interface to mobilise a coordinated and speedy response by various agencies to meet the respective emergency situations, he said.

Earlier, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organised two-day national conference on Chemical (Industrial) Disaster Management Awareness at which Mr Deshmukh released a report on the 'National Disaster Management Guidelines for Chemical Disasters'.

On the occasion, he pointed out that the chemical sector in India has grown in a spectacular manner along with the country's economic progress. But use of hazardous chemicals and the threat of major accidents still persisted.

Reminding of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, he said, the accident had brought into sharp focus the unprecedented scale of accident potential and the need for efficent mechanisms of evacuation. It created a compelling situation to approach disaster management and chemical safety holistically, Mr Deshmukh emphasised.

It is important to use the lessons learnt from such incidents to evaluate new ways to prevent or mitigate the chemical disasters, the Chief Minister said.

Unlike the emergencies caused through natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, which cannot be prevented, the emergencies caused through chemical accidents can be minimised by proper planning, he said.

On the basis of the guidelines issued for chemical accidents by the NDMA, the state would develop an effective and comprehensive Disaster Management Plan in consultation with all its stakeholders, Mr Deshmukh added.

UNI