40 Lankan officers study U'khand disaster mgmt system

Dehradun: A delegation of 40 civil service officers from Sri Lanka visited the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) in Dehradun on Tuesday to study Uttarakhand's disaster management system. The visit was organised under a capacity-building programme by the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG).Officials of Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) briefed the delegation on disaster preparedness, response mechanisms and use of technology. Additional CEO (implementation) and DIG Rajkumar Negi explained how relief and rescue operations are carried out during emergencies, and outlined the role of state and district emergency operation centres, as well as early warning dissemination systems.The delegation was also briefed on community participation in disaster risk reduction and how alerts are communicated to the last mile. Presentations covered the Incident Response System, preparedness strategies, response protocols, post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction and coordination between USDMA and the National Disaster Management Authority.Senior scientist Rohit Thapliyal of India Meteorological Department spoke on advanced weather forecasting systems, including satellite observations, Doppler weather radars and real-time data integration for multi-level warnings, particularly important in mountainous regions.Director of Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre, Shantanu Sarkar, explained scientific approaches to landslide risk reduction, including susceptibility mapping, GIS-based monitoring, drone surveys and early warning systems.With Sri Lanka also prone to landslides and heavy rainfall, the visiting officers showed interest in Uttarakhand's model and discussed its possible adaptation. Officials said such exchanges help build institutional capacity and promote shared approaches to disaster risk reduction.