State Level Consultation On Disaster Management In Assam
- Orgd by Indo-Global Social Service Society, Guwahati -

Objectives:

1. To convene all major stakeholders in Disaster Response to arrive at a convergent view on Disaster Management in Assam/NE.
2. To advocate on suitable policy decisions in matters of Disaster Management
3. To strengthen the Public–Private partnership in Disaster Mitigation
4. To work out plan of action for long term solutions to flood prone areas.

The Need of a Consultative Process:

About 40 percent of the total land areas in Assam are susceptible to flood. The nature of flooding is changing every year and becoming more destructive. The river course has become unpredictable and more destructive with flash floods coursing through new areas every year. The breaches in embankments are increasing on account of the rapid flow of the flash floods.

The great Assam Floods in 2004 and 2007 have demonstrated that the mighty Brahmaputra River and its tributaries can become more dangerous for the communities living in low lying areas. To deal with this perennial problem the state needs a radical and pragmatic approach to bring solution. This cannot be done by any single player alone. The effort has to be made by governmental agencies together with other NGOs and Civil Society Organizations, particularly those that have been intervening on the flood problem in some way or the other over the years. A consultative process should be initiated in which different options are discussed and a road map is made and suggestions could be made to the state government.

Year after year millions of hectares of agricultural land have been buried under silt, making it unfit for any cropping. The impoverished farmers have to migrate to other areas after loosing all he possessed. The decrease of arable land due to sand-casting is now a grave matter in the flood plains of Assam. This is a challenge to the government of Assam, as food production is decreasing year after year. A clear vision and stronger commitment is required to tackle the problem of siltation.

The fast disappearance of natural water bodies through mud-filling on the one side, and hill cutting activities on the other, is causing a big threat with greater water logging and landslips becoming very frequent. Natural water drains are chocked through indiscriminate constructions, causing greater peril to the inhabitants. A better policy needs to be developed and implemented aggressively.

STATE LEVEL CONSULTATION:

A State Level Consultation on Disaster Management will be organized on the 7th and 8th December at Don Bosco Institute, Kharguli, Guwahati. The workshop is being organized by Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS), and sponsored by Welthungerhilfe and ECHO.

PARTICIPANTS OF THE CONSULTATION:

• Members of the Inter Agency Group (IAG) Assam
• Government Department Officials
• Disaster Project Implementing NGOs
• Resource Institutions and NGOs.
• Public/Community Leaders.

Check out website - www.igsss.org

o Download Invitation Form here (PDF - 98 KB)

o Download Invitation Form here (PDF - 64 KB)

---

This Education announcement was furnished by Hanjabam Shukhdeba Sharma ( PhD Scholar at Tata Institute of Social Sciences)
The writer can be contacted at shukhdeba(dot)sharma(at)tiss(dot)edu
This was webcasted on December 06, 2008 .

---