Concurrent calamities demand more outlay in public safety, health
TNN Bureau. Updated: 5/21/2020 2:00:29 PM
National
New Delhi/Kolkata, May 21: India needs to be prepared to handle more than one disasters simultaneously as the double whammy of Covid-19 and cyclone Amphan is testing country's disaster response mechanism.
"No one could have predicted the current situation. But with studies showing extreme weather phenomena increasing in frequency over the last two decades, concurrent calamities have to be factored in, " the experts said in unison on Thursday amid the Covid-19 fight a day after savage cyclone battered Bengal claiming 12 lives devastating the State.
They pointed out that preparedness would go back to empowering grassroots administration, strengthening the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) further and increasing investment in public health.
Informatively, amid the growing Covid death toll in the country, cyclone Amphan - barrelling in from the Bay of Bengal - devastated number of districts in West Bengal on Wednesday causing extensive damage to life and property.
Incidentally, the Centre's annual outlay for procurement of big equipment by NDRF had been slashed by almost 40 per cent last year.