Administrative Secretary of Disaster Management, UT Ladakh Amit Sharma chaired the Tabletop Exercise Program on August 2 at D C Conference Hall, Leh.

The tabletop exercise program was co-chaired by Lt. General Syed Ata Mahdi Hasnain (Retd), a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) via video conference from Delhi.

Administrative Secretary said that UT Ladakh’s key stakeholders should take a keen part in such an awareness program as such knowledge reduces chaos and confusion in times of crisis. This exercise is a platform for sharing best practices on all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management, Amit Sharma stated.

The co-chair of the program Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Mahdi Hasnain highlighted the importance of the exercises and mock drills. He also urged the stakeholders that these kinds of exercises and mock drills will be conducted on a regular basis to infuse much-needed knowledge and safety measures in times of natural calamities in Ladakh.

Additional Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Home Affairs Alok (IAS) stressed conducting the Mock exercise to see the coordination among the different departments and the ground staff to make the functioning of the relief and rescue operation faster, more efficient, and reliable in times of real-time disasters.

Senior Consultant (ME & IRS), NDMA, Major General Sudhir Bahl presented a detailed Table Top Exercises presentation on earthquakes, natural disasters, etc. He briefed the participants about the objectives and scope of Table Top and the mock exercise. Major Gen Bahl also stressed good planning, better coordination, and better response among various participating stakeholders and agencies.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a Table Top Exercise program for brainstorming and thorough discussions with all stakeholders involved in disaster management in Ladakh. The NDMA conducted such Table Top and Mock Exercises prior to any natural calamities in its efforts to improve preparedness and response mechanisms for various disasters.

During the meeting, officials from Ladakh Disaster Management Authority (LDMA) presented an overview of the Disaster Plan and preparedness. Various departments including UT Level Disaster Response Force, Indian Metrological Department (IMD), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Jal Shakti, Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC), Health, communication, and connectivity besides various security agencies also presented detailed overviews of disaster plans.

The meeting was informed that mock exercises shall be conducted at the Emergency Operation Centre, Upper Tukcha, Leh on August 04 to assess the preparedness and response mechanism of all the stakeholders involved in the management.

The meeting highlighted the role and responsibilities of the concerned stakeholders. The officials were sensitized on how to plan for efficient and effective disaster preparedness besides how to focus on managing emergencies and how to handle the situation during exigencies.

Officers were urged to identify gaps and prepare objective tasks, challenges, resources, problem areas and remedial measures to be taken in case of any disaster.