The sound of sirens last heard in 1971 have been conspicuous by their silence.
Thank God!
But then again, was it not the sound of sirens which sent everyone scrambling, running to shelters, switching lights off for black outs and alerts! A practice tried and tested in the Country but not heard for long.
Emergencies & Preparations
Over the years we have seen that emergencies come in different forms and mostly when least expected, then again, there may not be one for years! Complacency sets in. Some might feel that there is no need to waste time & money in preparation for something that might never be seen or experienced again, rather fool hardy to say the least. When an emergency or disaster strikes, where and in what manner is not announced ,therefore it warrants that we be prepared .
An emergency could be anything ranging from a Natural Disaster like earthquakes, floods , cyclones or droughts which are recurrent, to an extent can be forecast, or at least areas under risk identified and preparations put in place.
It could be an agricultural emergency with Locusts or diseases affecting crops and their production.
An Endemic affecting humans, cattle , live stock or poultry and a Pandemic like swine flu , SARs or the current situation like COVID-19 created by humans either accidently or by design.
Lastly an act of external aggression which could take the form of war, restricted or all out, sub- conventional ,conventional , nuclear or NBC . The NBC content would certainly require large scale efforts at containment & mitigation ranging from PPE to various other measures, both decontamination, medication and so forth across a wide array of space and environment.
Each of these situations require systems and procedures to be put in place.
No system can be considered sound unless tested, rehearsed and refined over a period of time at reasonable frequencies.
The humongous challenge and effort required can best be understood through a simple example of what it takes for flood relief.
Flood Relief
Year after year, the Army undertakes “mock drills” for flood relief. Let us understand what happens on ground:-
• There are “Standard Operating Procedures” at each Headquarters/Unit.
• All Commanders review the plans laid out.
• Columns earmarked check the equipment, its operational readiness and availability.
• Transport availability and load tables.
• Procedure for demanding civil vehicles.
• Random count of number of vehicles passing through a point is done to ascertain how many vehicles can be mustered in a given time frame.
• Infantry, Engineers, Signals, Medical Teams , Supplies are co-opted.
• Communications rehearsed &Tested.
• Time taken to move out is checked.
• Telephone numbers and names including those of relevant Civil Administration are verified and updated.
• Joint meetings are held between Army & Civil Administration to fine tune responses and coordination .These may include tentage for camps, water supply, medication, hygiene , food and other peripherals for a relief camp. Equipment and support available with both the Civil Administration and Army are factored in.
A quick assessment would indicate what goes in for preparation for a fairly simple operation like Flood Relief.
• Transport
• Manpower
• Equipment( specially engineer Equipment is checked , tallied, repaired)
• Communication
• Medical support
• Tentage
• Food supply
The list given above is a very rudimentary one giving the bare essentials at District and State levels across the country. One needs to understand the degree of coordination internally and between various departments in a situation which can be reasonably forecast. Many examples can be pointers as a failure to respond even in such cases due to laxity at various levels, failure to use the Disaster Management Funds at their disposal is an issue which not being addressed here.
• National Emergency
Let us upscale this to a National Emergency in a conventional situation to get a brief idea of what it would involve.
a) Mobilisation of:-
• Armed Forces.
• Railways
• Road Transport
• Medical Facilities
• Food & supply
• Water supply
• Critical Infrastructure like Vas/VPs
• Civil Defence
• Fire & Police Services
• Public. At several levels, BPL, Daily wagers, Middle Class, Essential Services, Response Mechanism and others.
• Identifying industry , tasking them to up the production of required Equipment/Technology.
Each of these pass through various stages; for example the armed forces, rail, road and air transport are under stress initially to move war like requirements to areas of deployment , then go into a maintenance mode.
Hospitals ready the wards, doctors, nurses, stock up essential medicine in preparation, prepare to accept casualties.
Civil defence goes into preparing towns and cities for Black Outs, Air Strikes and so forth.
Food & Supplies get their acts together to feed citizens and provide for Armed Forces, Railway Rolling stock and Road Transport are made available.
It’s a three front war effort:-
• Borders & frontline. Forces & residents at the Borders.
• Lines of support linking the borders & frontline for supplies. Long distance, travelling, load carrying, city commuting.
• Protecting citizens & providing for them. Towns & Cities are the centres of population which is invariably diverse in age, finances, immunity and so forth.
Protecting & Providing for Citizens/Communities
In a country like ours, a historic perspective would reflect a reactive attitude for responding to such emergencies rather than being prepared and proactive. Case in point is the Amendment to the Factories Act with reference to the use or production of “Hazardous Substances” which came about only after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy; it showcases a lack of foresight and planning.
Governments the world over, have as their responsibility “The Safety & Security of Citizens” on top of their lists. India too has had certain Regulations promulgated with this in mind, the “Disaster Management Act of 2005 which came up in the aftermath of Earthquakes and the formation of the NDMA took shape is a case in point. This Act over rides the old Epidemic Disease Act of 1897 and provides the Government powers to declare a part or the entire country as affected by a disaster and to make plans for mitigating the “risks, impact and affects” likely from that Disaster. It covers in essence all Natural and Man Made Disasters which are beyond the coping capacity of the community, while at the same time, empowering the Government to Act against anyone not abiding by the Government’s Orders & Regulations.
Analysing the response required for and by the target community one can zero down to the following:-
• An epidemic unlike other Natural Disasters does not disrupt communications which are a most vital requirement in such testing times. It does however increase the load.
• Its spread as a general rule goes unnoticed in the initial stages, thereafter spreads rapidly before it gets sufficient attention.
• It may spread in a virulent manner and build a sudden pressure on Medical Institutions and Staff.
• PPE demand will rise exponentially. Causing a surge in demand from all concerned, be they sanitary workers, domestic help, transportation employees or families.
• Panic buying and crowding further upsets the situation.
• The focus of responses centres around towns, cities, transportation hubs and hospitals.
• Panic and the need for Self Preservation increases the problems, at times leading to irresponsible behaviour which further aggravates the situation.
• Fear leads to families wanting to come together and thus cause a rush/flood of humans in and around transportation hubs. Lock downs cause further turmoil and risk of spread at such points.
• Lock downs lead to reduction of production, jobs and loss of finances. In a cyclical manner lock downs also lead to a drop in availability of medicines /PPE required for day to day functions, thus the requirement for a careful balance.
• Isolation requires door to door services for all, regardless of position or affluence. This in turn calls for quick and well coordinated responses by the Administration assisted by RWAs.
• Isolation also leads to personal isolation and boredom which in turn requires a proper routine, self discipline, exercise and family /individual creativity.
• Volunteer groups within colonies/residential areas to assist and support others.
A deliberate attempt has been made to keep this as short and crisp as possible for ease of understanding.
Preventive Measures & Responses
It goes without saying that endemics/pandemics are community based diseases encouraged by a lack of hygiene, social customs and culture and the absence of a sense of responsibility.
Health Education Programmes, Healthy Systems of Sanitation, Personal Hygiene of Families/ communities is a must. It is critical that all such programs reach down to the smallest social unit; Families/homes as a habit. To this extent the “Swach Bharat” endeavour by Sri Narender Modi our respected Prime a Minister has been in the right direction, although its implementation has so far left much to be desired, it’s a beginning none the less.
RWAs play a very important role in all of this including Counter Terrorism as has been demonstrated in the Western Countries where residents have risen to the occasion, relieving Government agencies of much pressure.
It is imperative for the RWAs to act as a link between residents and Civil Administration. Their willing cooperation will ensure orderly conduct and obedience of orders promulgated from time to time, look after the elderly and infirm, facilitate door to door distribution of daily needs, medicines and so forth.
In addition to the above, they would also assist in reporting and quarantining those affected thus reducing the risk of spreading further infection.
Reduced load on Hospitals allows proper treatment of individuals affected /requiring urgent attention and also prevents avoidable spread.
Families following good habits of hygiene and self discipline are likely to be less affected.
Daily wagers , taxi drivers, domestic help, nursing staff, require special attention and assistance by way of PPE, screening, hygiene and provision of lively hood in terms of supplies of food etc. Employers need to be extra sensitive to the needs of such individuals.
Each house hold, as a habit stocks for a week if not more, depending upon their economic wellbeing and number of family members. Therefore they need to be reassured that door to door delivery will start before that week gets over.
” If” and that is the big question “If” the community can undertake responsibility for their own conduct, hygiene and reporting of cases, cooperate /support the Civil Administration where required, act as self support systems for residents around, more than half the battle is won. This leaves the Government’s hands and minds free to work on bigger issues like economic recovery, retention of Jobs, Industrial recovery and so forth. Industry must respond with quick solutions for medication/ testing kits, shelters and much more.
In Conclusion: Back to the Siren
Periodic rehearsals ,to practice the entire Populace /Stake holders from time to time is essential.
It gets the administration to update data of vendors, residents, age profile, state of transport, hospitals , beds, ventilators, medical industry, employees in essential services and much more.
It gets the RWAs and through them all residents alerted and puts systems in place to bring such a disaster under control without panic.
Just imagine for a moment; all residential areas under the RWAs shutting their gates to allow controlled entry/exit, at the gate maintaining a register to record who comes /goes and a brief on medical condition (recorded by a volunteer who could use an IR Thermometer if required) reporting of individuals with a travel history and so forth, how this would ease the job of the Administration? Life would be easier and risks reduced!
Our system of Aadhar Cards & Cell phones gives the Administration/residents a ready database and connectivity.
Given the present situation, the Government and the People deserve to be complimented for the responses so far.
The “Siren However Must Wail Again” and periodic mock drills through Civil Defence or by the NDMA be revived lest we wake up facing a calamity too large to handle in the absence of preparation.
Please wait...
