Even four years after enactment of National Disaster Management Authority Act 2010, the Punjab government is yet to fulfill its obligation of establishing district disaster management authorities (DDMA) at the district level to cope with a situation created by natural and manmade calamities.

Though, these bodies are there on paper, DDMAs in all 36 districts of the province have no offices on the ground and no preparedness for natural and manmade disasters.

The absence of the disaster management authorities at the district level was evident during the recent rains and floods.

Under the National Disaster Management Authority Act 2010, provincial disaster management authorities (PDMA) and district disaster management authorities (DDMA) were to be established.

The provincial government established PDMA and notified DDMA in the districts.

However, the district disaster management authorities are present only in official files. In Rawalpindi, the district coordination officer (DCO) notified the DDMA but not a single meeting of the authority has been held in the last four years.

The situation is not restricted to Rawalpindi alone, a similar situation exists in Punjab's 36 districts. Under the National Disaster Management Authority Act 2010, it is the duty of the DDMA to make arrangements to ensure early warning of any disaster in the area and make plans to deal it.

The DDMA will have to train volunteers and various organisations in rescue work and coordinate relief activities with PDMA and NDMA.

On September 6, more than 14 people died in the district and property worth millions of rupees was damaged during floods in Soan River and Leh Nullah.

During Muharram last year, sectarian violence erupted and more than 100 shops, Imambargahs and a mosque were burnt, but the government, instead of handling the situation along with civilian authorities, called the army to help.

In the recent rains, again the army was called in to help the civilian administration. Even, the rescue items were provided to the local administration by the army.

A question arises why the government failed to set up a civilian organisation to deal with disasters despite the fact that law authorises it to establish one.

When contacted, District Emergency Officer Abdur Rehman admitted that there was no DDMA at the district level in the province. He said the DCOs had notified the formation of DDMA on paper but it does not exist on the ground.

“Rescue work was left to Rescue 1122 which sought the army's help as it did not have the necessary equipment to tackle such a large scale flood. Two boats were available with Rescue 1122 which were not enough to save lives in the flood-affected areas,” he said.

“In the recent flood in Soan River and Leh Nullah, Rescue 1122 got boats and trained divers from the army. It is the duty of the DDMA to make arrangements for the necessary equipment and train people in rescue and relief work,” he said.

He said during sectarian violence in Raja Bazaar, there was lack of coordination between government departments. He said Civil Defence was limited to a bomb disposal squad and was assigned the task to eliminate dengue from the city.

A senior official of the Punjab Revenue Department told Dawn that the government was facing problems in arranging food items for the flood-affected people in various areas of the province.

“The provincial government had directed the revenue officials (patwaris) to make arrangements as there was no other means. The patwaris started collected donations from the well-off land owners in safe areas,” he said.

Atif Shahzad, a land owner in Sargodha, told Dawn that the patwaris demanded Rs10,000 each from them to arrange food items for flood-affected people, adding that the goods would be dispatched in the name of the Punjab government.

If the government sets up DDMAs, these bodies would carry out rescue and relief activities and use their funds to provide food to the affected people.

Former district nazim and PTI Punjab Vice President Raja Tariq Mehboob Kiani told Dawn that there was a need to enforce NDMA Act 2010 and form DDMAs to improve the working of the government.

“The provincial government is not interested in strengthening these bodies at the district level as it wants to control all departments in Lahore. This is a kind of dictatorship,” he said.

Mr Kiani said there were no arrangements to impart training to college and university students and volunteers to carry out rescue work during calamities.

“In the past, Civil Defence trained volunteers and college students but when a new system was enforced in 2008, it ignored the good experiences of the past,” he said.

He said it was the duty of the DDMA to be prepared to handle disasters so that when a situation arises it is in a position to implement its plan immediately.

“Rawalpindi and Islamabad are situated on an earthquake fault line and it is the duty of the DDMA to ensure that all buildings are quake-resistant. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) had made it compulsory that all building plans should have the necessary precautionary measures but in Rawalpindi, the district administration had failed to adopt this procedure,” the former nazim added.

“So far there is no plan to even handle a flood in Leh Nullah. In 2001, the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) cleared encroachments along the nullah but they soon cropped up,” he said.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Malik Azam told Dawn that during the recent flood, there was no coordination between the government departments and welfare organisations like JI’s Al Khidmat Foundation.

“It is the duty of the DDMA to liaison with NGOs and welfare organisations to carry out rescue and rehabilitation work in the affected areas,” he said.

PML-N MNA Malik Abrar did not agree with other politicians and said the federal and provincial governments were coordinating with the relevant organisations and providing facilities to the flood-affected areas.

He said the provincial government shifted all funds for the rehabilitation of the flood victims and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif himself ensured coordination of departments in various areas.

He said the DDMAs should be established but it would take time to develop the organisations, adding that political unrest in the capital city had diverted the government’s attention from its development work.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2014