My opinion on Disaster Management published in dawn
 

[U]Floods (Letter to Editor)[/U]
Thursday August 19, 2010

SOUTH Asian Association of Regional Cooperation is an organisation which the people of South Asia look up to as a saviour in terms of economic stability and security of the region.

Like the various areas of cooperation, the Saarc nations should cooperate and develop a combined disaster management force to which resources should be equally allocated by the member nations.

It may be named as South Asian Disaster Operations and Rehabilitation Force (SADORF), well-equipped with latest technology, tools and suitable personnel, having independent funds in its regional exchequer. Sub-headquarters should be maintained in each country which should work under the supervision of the headquarters based within the Saarc secretariat in Kathmandu, Nepal.

This force should be available at our disposal whenever required in the case of a disaster. Furthermore, the teams within the organisation can be divided into specialised cells, based on the area of expertise such as medicine, earthquakes relief, flood relief, storms relief, etc. Each country should send its senior officials of police and military forces to head various missions and to head the SADORF academy for training of its recruited personnel.

I wish this kind of organisation to come into existence so that lots of lives can not only be saved, but also be rehabilitated as soon as possible. I urge the government of Pakistan to float this idea to the Saarc nations so that it can be implemented without any further delay.

If such an organisation would have existed, disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes and floods would have been managed with great efficiency and the situation would have been much better, but as they say it’s never too late.

RANA ZEESHAN PERVAIZ
Multan

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