Minister of industries and disaster management Renu Kumari at the meeting in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, June 1: The civil society should be actively associated with rescue missions during man-made or natural disasters.

This was one of the topics of discussion at a meeting organised by state disaster management authority on the issue of participation of people in man-made and natural disasters at AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies on Wednesday.

State disaster management department minister Renu Kumari said there should be larger participation of civil society during any type of incidents arising out of calamities.

The minister said they have targeted memberships from around 10,084 people mainly from non-governmental agencies from state-level to block-level. Earlier, the work of the civil society was limited to maintain peace during communal riots but now the definition of civil society has changed. These civil society members would be assigned the task of being active volunteers during any type of disasters, the minister added.

Anil Kumar Sinha, vice-chairman of Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) said: “The work of the civil society during communal riots is commendable, but the emphasis now should be on involving them in participation during natural and man-made calamities.”

The participation of these civil society members could be in incidents related to train accidents, road mishaps, Naxalite incidents and others. Moreover, during natural calamities like drought, floods, earthquake or cyclones, these civil society members could help in rescue mission.

Sinha also highlighted the role of Jaiprakash Narayan when he along with his volunteers played a crucial role in rescue operations during the 1967 famine. Listing out the priorities of civil society members, the members of BSDMA who had participated at the meeting said the disaster management authority should be strengthened at block and village-level and these members should be provided training.

Bhola Prasad Singh, the vice-chairman of Bihar State Civil Society, said: “We have been facing droughts for the past two consecutive years. To tackle the situation, the members should be provided training which they can pass on to farmers.”

Singh added: “At villages affected by floods, civil society members should be provided training in preventive measures. Similarly, all panchayats should have boats to be used for rescue missions.”