 |
|
||
 |
|||
| Improve Your World | Home | About Us | Sitemap | Search | Contact Us | ||
|
|
||||||||
| Please help us in making this a comprehensive resource section for those directly connected or affected by this issue e.g. citizens, NGOs, government officers, students, teachers, researchers. Please directly upload or email us relevant content. This can include lists, articles, photographs, research papers, links to websites, etc. Please volunteer as an expert panelist to whom we can direct queries from our website visitors |
| Home >> Disaster Management News >> Newspaper Articles |   Email this Page |
|
|||
|
Open spaces vital when disaster strikes: expert Sayli Udas Mankikar - Mumbai OPEN SPACES play a vital role when disaster strikes a city - says this global expert on disaster management who has witnessed the aftermath of 45 world disasters including the 2005 Mumbai floods and the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. "Ideally Mumbai, like Tokyo, should have an open space at every 200 metres (with signboards saying so) as part of the city disaster management plan," Ian Davis, chairman of the Global Forum for Disaster Reduction, told HT. Open spaces function as safe havens in times of emergency, and later as disaster recovery bases, he said. "Over 200 acres of open land to be giv en for concrete construction, replacing the green lungs, is not good for the city," said Davis, who is in the city for the two-day 3rd International Conference on Disaster Re- duction, starting on Wednes- day at Nehru Center. "Lesser open spaces means degradation of the city's green lungs, making it more prone to floods and related disasters," he said. And giving open spaces to private players was not the right way forward "for a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai". Citing his visit to Dadar's Shivaji Park, he said, "It was for the first time that I saw so many people across sections of the society playing together. Clubs would mean entry for the elite." Detailed disaster planning and regular simulations involving experts was essential, he said. "Flooding is controllable if citizens avoid using plastic. In 2005, plastic stuck at culverts and dumping in rivers worsened the situation." The city's disaster preparedness had increased since 2005, but more is needed to be done, he said. "The mayor should visit other disaster struck areas - like parts of Bangladesh hit by the cyclone - and draw plans to see that the city remains protected." sayli.mankikar@hindustantimes.com
SPACE CRUNCH ¦ Open space per 1,000 people should be 0.5 acre. ¦ But in Mumbai it is less than 0.03 acre for every 1,000 people. Url: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=28_11_2007_003_008&typ=0&pub=264 |
