Uttarakhand: Governor and Chief Minister inaugurated the coffee table book and dashboard of State Disaster Management Authority

Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh (retd) and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday released the coffee table book ‘Ek Aur Prayas on Disaster Management in Kedarnath Ji Area’ prepared by the State Disaster Management Authority at Raj Bhavan and inaugurated the dashboard of USDMA.

Addressing the program, the Governor said that the state of Uttarakhand is a sensitive state in terms of natural disasters. Due to geographical and environmental conditions, disasters like landslides, floods, cloudbursts, earthquakes keep coming here from time to time. Dealing with these disasters remains a big challenge for us. He said that the disaster that occurred in Shri Kedarnath area on 31 July 2024 had emerged as a big challenge. In this difficult situation, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) coordinated with all the line departments and carried out quick relief and rescue operations.

The Governor said that the state government, in coordination with the Center, took quick decisions in this hour of disaster and started relief and rescue operations, which is commendable. He said that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, taking cognizance of the said incident, directed to keep all the arrangements in order for the convenience of the pilgrims on the Chardham Yatra routes and to stop the pilgrims at safe places. Relief and rescue operations were carried out on a war footing under his supervision. The Governor said that the Government of India also provided full support for relief and rescue operations. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was so concerned about the safety of the pilgrims after this disaster that he himself kept taking updates of this rescue operation.

The Governor said that all these important efforts have been compiled in the form of a book, which will serve as inspiration and guidance for the future. The coffee table book “Another Effort on Disaster Management in Shri Kedarnath Ji Area” preserves the contributions of all those brave individuals and organizations who helped in reducing the impact of this disaster with their selfless service.

The Governor said that today we are also inaugurating the USDMA dashboard, which will make the disaster management system more accurate, quick and transparent. This digital system will not only help in collecting and analyzing data related to disasters, but will also prove to be helpful in policy making and quick decision making. He said that this dashboard will give Uttarakhand a new technological power in disaster management, which will not only make quick response possible, but will also enable better disaster forecasting and planning in future.

The Governor said that Uttarakhand is a state which is not only famous for its natural beauty but is also known for the service-spirit and courage of its citizens. The Governor thanked all those individuals and organizations who performed their duty even in adverse circumstances and worked day and night to protect the people. He said that we should all work together towards building a strong, vigilant and disaster-resistant Uttarakhand, so that we can protect our natural heritage and ensure a safe future for the coming generations.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that a “Coffee Table Book” showing the efforts of relief and rescue operations during the disaster in Kedarnath area on 31 July 2024 and a dashboard of USDMA promoting innovations in the field of disaster management have been released. He said that Chardham Yatra was also going on during the disaster in Kedarnath area last year. The Chief Minister kept taking every update of the affected area from senior officials of the government and the district administration throughout the night. The next day, after visiting the affected areas, the Chief Minister himself took the lead to expedite the relief and rescue operations with the officials. The Chief Minister said that the government got full support from social, religious organizations and local people to save from this disaster. He said that it was not just a natural disaster but also a tough test of our patience, dedication and disaster management capabilities.

The Chief Minister said that when he reached among the devotees in Kedarnath area, he had a doubt in his mind that there would be a feeling of anger in the minds of devotees who had come from all over the country. He said that as soon as we went to the affected area, there was a sense of enthusiasm among the devotees. The devotees said that we have full faith that we will all go to our homes safely from Devbhoomi. Food, medicine and other essential facilities were made available to all the devotees. More than 15 thousand devotees were evacuated safely. Roads were destroyed at 29 places in the disaster affected area, all of them were started soon. We talked to people from business organizations and took their suggestions forward. In this disaster, our NDRF, SDRF, police force, Indian Air Force personnel and district administration teams along with the local people cooperated shoulder to shoulder.

The Chief Minister said that we constantly get the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh (retd) to overcome the challenge of any disaster in the state. He said that full preparations are being made to make this year’s Chardham Yatra well organized. Good experiences are also coming out of the winter yatra which started in the state from 08 December 2024. The Prime Minister’s program is proposed in the winter yatra. The Chief Minister said that Mukhwa was a different kind of experience for him too. The natural beauty of Uttarakhand is even more amazing in winter.

On this occasion, Cabinet Minister and Minister in-charge of Rudraprayag district Saurabh Bahuguna said that 31 July 2024 was a very sad day for Kedarghati. But Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stood at the forefront during the disaster and succeeded in resuming the yatra by removing the fear inside the people. Kedarnath and Silkarya disaster management is an example of this. Under the leadership of the Chief Minister, the government has been able to deal with disasters with its efficiency every time. He said that the way the Chief Minister works during disasters, a coffee table book can be made on him.

Features of the dashboard developed by USDMA

This dashboard will help in making the disaster management system in Uttarakhand more accurate, quick and transparent. The reporting process and action taken report of the State Emergency Operations Center will be digitalized. It will help in quick analysis of disaster incidents and taking appropriate decisions. Disaster related data can be accessed online from any place. Information will be collected from all the districts through digital medium, which will help in making the disaster management system more effective and data driven. Information of pilgrims and vehicles arriving daily in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Hemkund Sahib and Pandukeshwar, Ukhimath, Mukhwa, Kharsali during winter will be updated regularly. The details of loss of life, loss of animals and property due to disasters, details of road accidents, weather forecast for the next ten days, phone numbers of disaster friends deployed in various districts of Uttarakhand along with their GIS location, satellite phone information and information about blockage and opening of roads will be included.

On this occasion, MLA Rudraprayag Bharat Chaudhary, Vice President Disaster Management Advisory Committee Vinay Rohila, Chairman of Mandi Parishad Anil Dabbu, Secretary to Governor Ravinath Raman, Secretary Disaster Management Vinod Kumar Suman, Additional Secretary to Governor Smt. Swati S Bhadoria, ADG A.P. Anshuman, Additional Chief Executive Officer Rajkumar Negi, District Magistrate Rudraprayag Dr. Saurabh Gaharwar and many other dignitaries were present.