Continuing its efforts to set up a robust system to deal with natural calamities, the administration of Ladakh on Wednesday held a table-top exercise to deal with situations arising out of cloud burst, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), heavy rains and landslides.

Ladakh has been experiencing unprecedented weather conditions of high temperatures as observed over the years, leading to such calamities other than being situated in an earthquake-prone zone.

The table-top exercise was organised by the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Department, UT Ladakh led by Secretary DMRRR Amit Sharma, in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, led by Maj General Sudhir Bahl.

Expressing concern over the rising incidence of calamities such as cloudbursts and GLOFs, advisor to Ladakh L-G Dr Pawan Kotwal stated that the geographical conditions of Ladakh, where there are many GLOFs situated in far-flung little villages and the nature of building houses which are mostly mud-brick houses, leave a devastating aftermath.

“We have special challenges and therefore we must put our best foot forward to deal with such situations,” stated Dr Kotwal, addressing the table-top exercise.

Secretary Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Department, UT Ladakh, Amit Sharma directed that the emergency operations centre (EOC) must be kept functional 24×7 with the presence of officials of all key Departments, which are always at forefront at the times of disasters including Army, BRO, Mechanical Department, NDRF, UTDRF, Health, IMD, Fire Brigade, etc.

Sharma further elaborated that a unique day and night mock drill is being organised in the following days to give a close-to-true event experience as most calamities occur at night and an inventory of all kinds of equipment available with various departments is being prepared to press them into action at times of calamities and disasters here in the UT.

The TTE sessions were conducted by Major General Sudhir Bhel, Lead Coordinator, NDMA.

DC Leh, Santosh Sukhdeve and DC Kargil Srikant Suse spoke of the areas in the respective districts that are calamity-ready and areas that need improvements and were constantly guided by Exercise Coordinator Major General Sudhir Bahl.

He also stressed the need to maintain an inventory of machinery and manpower, along with an inventory of gadgets, especially drones which will assist in providing a better understanding of the expanse and nature of the calamity.

Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla, Commandant, Fire and Fury Corps spoke of Ladakh’s vulnerability to weather hazards and highlighted the need to take proactive steps and mitigating measures.

Further, Colonel Kirti Pratap Singh, Advisor (Operations and Communication) NDMA stressed on the challenges imposed by the presence of thousands of GLOFs in the Himalayan region.

Discussions were also held on the important role of community members as first responders, the need for wireless communication systems, machinery and equipment, and medical facilities, all to be mobilized from the EOC.