Disaster management exercise in Hyderabad on Sep 23

A joint exercise of armed forces and other agencies to make combined efforts for disaster management would be held at the Hussain Sagar lake here on September 23.

The exercise aims to synergise the efforts of the agencies and build confidence among people towards mitigation of disasters, according to a defence release issued yesterday.

The trend of urban flooding has increased in India over the years, it said.Severe inundation of urban premises in densely populated areas has been witnessed in major cities like Hyderabad (2000, 2016), Ahmedabad (2001), Mumbai (2005, 2017), Surat (2006), Kolkata (2007), Delhi (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010), Guwahati (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015), Srinagar (2014) and Chennai (2004, 2015), the release said.

'Pralay Sahayam', conceptualised as a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise and supported by the Telangana government in conjunction with the armed forces and other disaster mitigation agencies, will be conducted at the



Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad on September 23, it said.

A meeting on the proposed exercise was yesterday held at the office of Telangana's chief secretary.The national, state and district-level disaster management agencies, including the armed forces, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), NGOs and representatives of the Telangana government would participate in the exercise.

The invites for the event have been extended to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre, and representatives from Maharashtra, Gao, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and other states, it said.

The disaster management representatives from embassies in New Delhi and consulates/high commissions in Hyderabad have also been invited for providing an international perspective over the issue, the release added.