KOCHI: Various stakeholders of Kochi city’s development on Wednesday pitched for the formation of an integrated agency to coordinate between various departments at the time of disasters. The agency can be the umbrella body under which various government departments, NGOs and community groups can effectively coordinate between each other, communicate and implement the plans.
The stakeholders came up with the proposal at a Round Table Discussion on ‘Urban Mobility and Disaster Management’ organised by Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, US Consulate General in Chennai and Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR). “The facility should be like an Operation Control Centre (OCC). At present, at the time of a disaster, various departments like Fire and Rescue Services, police, health, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority and district administration, NGOs and community groups like fishermen are actively participating in the rescue operations. However, the issue with these groups is all of them are functioning as individual groups/sections. That is why the necessity for integrating them under one command centre arises,” they added.
The discussion was a platform for the various stakeholders in the field of urban mobility to share their experiences and learning from the 2018 Kerala floods with a focus on ‘Urban Mobility’ during disasters. Hari G P, additional general manager (Urban Transport), KMRL, who chaired the round table, highlighted the active measures taken up by KMRL during the 2018 floods, offering the Metro journey free of cost for three days and transporting flood-relief materials. “An integrated transport system for the city connecting multiple modes of transport like water metro, bus, feeder systems and non-motorised transport is the key objective of KMRL,” he added.
The stakeholders shared their experiences during the floods. “Kerala floods of 2018 were a great learning experience for us. We are in the process of incorporating the learning from the floods of 2018 in the revised plan so that the water metro is more resilient and responsive towards future disasters,” said Ajith A, AGM, KMRL (Water Metro).
Playing their part
Rama Padiyar of the Private Bus Operators Association highlighted the contribution by private buses during the floods.
Disaster-resilient infrastructure and multiple connectivity options play a critical role,” said advocate Majnu Komath, chairman, Goshree Action Council.