HADR to focus on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance
S Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs037
Rendering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief are the talk of the town for next few days in Chennai starting from August 2, thanks to HADR. Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise (HADR) for Tamilnadu and Puducherry will be held in Chennai from 2 to 4 August.
HADR is being coordinated by the Flag Officer Commanding Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Naval Area (FOTNA) under the Eastern Naval Command. The tri-services exercise being organized under the aegis of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQIDS) is conducted for the first time in Chennai with the participation of multi-agencies.
As part of the exercise, a seminar, table top exercise, exhibition, skill demonstration and final exercise in locations in coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have been planned with the theme of ‘Cyclone followed by Urban Flooding Relief Operations’.
Government of India has also extended invitations to friendly foreign countries in the Indian Ocean region to participate in the exercise as observers and to share best practices in disaster relief operations.
The exercise commenced with a seminar at Kalaivanar Arangam on 2 August, which encompassed experience sharing and presentation of plans by eminent speakers from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA), Armed Forces, Fire and Rescue Services, Greater Chennai Corporation and Tamil Nadu Disaster Relief and Rescue Force (TNDRRF).
A static exhibition will be organised at Island Ground in Chennai which will be inagurated by Dr K Satyagopal, additional chief secretary, Commissioner of Revenue Administration and State Relief Commissioner, Government of Tamil Nadu at 10:30 am 3 August.
The exhibition would be open to the public on 3 August from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm and again on 4 August from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm. Various national and state level agencies, NGOs and vendors will display equipment used for disaster management in the stalls set up at the Island Ground to showcase the various HADR capabilities.
A skill demonstration will be conducted for the government agencies within Chennai Port Trust premises on 3 August, for showcasing the capabilities of the Indian armed forces in carrying out Disaster Relief. During the demonstration, various capabilities of HADR will be demonstrated to the decision making authorities of the disaster management hierarchy.
There will be a table top exercise on 3 August which will feature activities, precautions to be taken before the onset of calamities and about work to be done in the post calamity scenario. This will be done as per the guidelines formulated by NDMA, TNSDMA and DDMA.
The final phase of HADR will be held on August 4 in the coastal districts of Tamilnadu and Pondicherry, a briefing session will be held after the last leg of the exercise is over which will pay attention to the lessons learn’t during the whole exercise.
The exercise is mainly aimed at refining existing standard operating procedures of all stakeholders in disaster relief operations and to ensure that all concerned agencies work in unison to deliver timely, effective and efficient relief to all citizens in time of need.