NDMA’s failure

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been taken to task by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) over the Murree tragedy. It is pathetic to note that the NDMA did not launch timely rescue operation when the crisis started on snow covered roads in Murree. It is very unfortunate that the performance of an institution is judged when a big tragedy takes place. The responsibility also falls on the government. The NDMA and other government authorities should have coordinated with the metrological department to receive updates of snowfall patterns, so that they could take preemptive measures before the crisis. This careless attitude of the government functionaries will certainly cause the people to lose faith in the government. At some point, the state will no longer be able to escape accountability for this egregious loss of human lives due to the carelessness and incompetence of the state authorities like the NDMA, whose sole purpose is to manage such crises.

The fact is that we are forced to rely on last minute, emergency relief operations and this is a failure of the state. What is the purpose of establishing the NDMA and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) if they fail to properly perform their given tasks? Pakistan has not learnt any lesson from the past. There are still many discrepancies that have not been addressed yet. A proper plan must be in place to deal with any disaster. The concerned disaster management authorities need to take short, medium and long term measures. First, they need to get ready stocks of non-perishable equipment, goods and other necessary items needed in emergency situations. Second, they need to educate the masses about the importance of safety measures and how to react when a disaster occurs. Disasters come and go but teach a number of lessons. It is high time the concerned authorities became proactive instead of reactive. Long term planning and its implementation are the only way to mitigate the effects of disasters.