‘Collaboration between local governments a must for disaster risk reduction’

Chiefs of four local governments, including Lalitpur metropolis have underlined the urgency of collaboration for disaster risk management and response.

Mayors of Lalitpur metropolitan city along with Dhangadhi sub-metropolis, Amargadhi municipality and Jayaprithvi municipality called for collaboration among the local governments.

They said this at a programme ‘Role, responsibilities and initiatives of the federal, provincial and local levels for disaster risk reduction and management’, organized by the Sudurpaschim Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law in coordination with SUPER Project.

On the occasion, Lalitpur mayor Chiribabu Maharjan said the sub-metropolis has been putting all efforts to make disaster response effective.

Lalitpur metropolis has been working with a policy to ensure emergency disaster response in four minutes after receiving information in the time of disaster.

Maharjan said the metropolis would effectively work in collaboration with its district and neighbouring local governments in the Valley when the federal government and the province government were not paying adequate attention to the disaster response exercise.

“We can never be satisfied with the disaster management work, but the metropolitan city is doing the necessary work with the goal that the use of new technology along with human resources is also necessary during the disaster”, the mayor added.

He further shared, “Now we have made all necessary arrangements for disaster management under one roof and have implemented the policy of deploying ambulances along with fire engines in disaster management”.

Pointing out the need to protect not only those affected by disasters but also to keep the employees engaged in such activities safe, he said that the sub-metropolis has already trained the employees on the risk of earthquake and rescue and assistance is being received from the security agencies and organizations in such activities.

Similarly, Kailali district’s Dhangadi sub-metropolis mayor Gopal Hamal admitted that they have learned a lot about disaster management and waste management from the Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) and they were able to successfully apply the learning in the sub-metropolis as well.

Hamal further said several local governments would hardly share their good practices and undertaking on disaster risk management.
“Others hide their good practices but the Lalitpur has taught us a great deal. The mayor there suggests us to follow their notable and good initiatives”, Hamal said.

He informed that it has been a year and half since plastic products have been banned in Dhangadi area and the sub-metropolis has been closely monitoring the sales and usage of tobacco-based products in the locality.

Likewise, Dadheldhura district’s Amargadhi municipality mayor Dilliram Joshi commented although the local governments have been empowered from authority point of view, they could not deliver effectively due to constraints of financial resources.

According to him, his municipality had laid emphasis on awareness for disaster risk reduction and management. “Sudurpaschim province is at high risk of earthquake. Hilly districts are more vulnerable to natural disasters due to human errors. We are trying to sensitize people to minimize disaster risk”, Joshi divulged.

Bajhang district’s Jay Prithivi municipality mayor Chetraj Baral said since Bajhang district was at high risk of earthquake and flood, they had put in place plans accordingly to mitigate disaster risk.

According to him, preparation was afoot to enforce Nepal National Building Code to reduce the risk of earthquake-induced damages.
Lalitpur’s deputy mayor Manjali Shakya said that they were trying to implement international practices when it comes to disaster management. “Learning from Japan, a country at risk of earthquake, that citizens, the Metropolis is trying to educate citizens about disaster response efforts”, she said.

Also, they were working towards setting up fund to save people from natural disasters and man-made disasters by prioritizing effective management of disaster-related problems.

Sushil Baidya, Secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law in Sudurpaschim Province, said that Ministry was doing the needful actions by running awareness campaign on disaster risk reduction at community and school level.

Surya Narayan Shrestha, Executive Director of the National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET), lauded the disaster risk management initiatives of the Lalitpur metropolis. He called for coordinating efforts with the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force for effective disaster risk management in the time of disasters.

He saw the need for decentralized service delivery strategies for effective disaster response efforts in all local levels. Present on the occasion were representatives from various local level as well as provincial ministers’ disaster focal persons among others.