KATHMANDU, JUNE 29
Home Minister Balkrishna Khand has said integrated approach should be adopted to reduce disaster risks. Adequate preparedness is equally important, he added.
At a stakeholders' meeting organised at the home ministry today, Minister Khand viewed that all related agencies should work in unison so that it could minimise the loss of lives and properties. "It is the government's major responsibility to save people's lives and properties," he said, directing the agencies to prioritise search, rescue and relief distribution during disasters.
Obstruction of roadways not only halts transportation but also dents development works, he reminded and directed the concerned to keep everything - human and physical resources on standby - for any disaster in the wake of monsoon.
Secretary at the home ministry Tek Narayan Pande argued that the disaster risk could be reduced with timely and authentic information.
He also stressed the need to make the monsoon information system more effective.
Similarly, CEO at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokhrel viewed that discussions with multi-stakeholders could be fruitful in minimising disaster risks.
Moreover, Brigadier General of Nepali Army Padam Kumar Budh informed that Nepali Army had kept necessary human resources and helicopter on standby.
Director at Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Dr Chuman Lal Das said 25 hospitals were determined as 'emergency service hospitals' to respond to health care needs in the wake of monsoon and possible floods and landslides.
Executive Director at Nepal Red Cross Society Umesh Prasad Dhakal also informed that Red Cross was ready to extend international support in case of disaster.
Joint Secretary at Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration Rudra Singh Tamang reminded that all local levels were directed to act as per the monsoon response plan.
Meanwhile, 11 persons were killed in the last 24 hours while 14 suffered injury and 2,074 were shifted to safer places.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 30, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
