Sri Vijaya Puram, Sept. 16: A conference on Emergency Communication System in A&N Islands was held yesterday in the Conference Hall of the Directorate of Disaster Management, under the chairmanship of Dr. Chandra Bhushan Kumar, IAS, Chief Secretary, A&N Administration.
In his inaugural address, the Chief Secretary appreciated the efforts of the Directorate of Disaster Management for bringing together all stakeholders to strengthen the Emergency Communication and Early Warning System of the Islands. He also highlighted the directions of the Hon’ble Lt. Governor for establishing a fail-safe communication network across all inhabited Islands and stressed the need to prepare a workable Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Emergency Communication and Early Warning Systems for all Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) and Control Rooms in the UT.
Summing up the proceedings, Ms. Chanchal Yadav, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary (DM), directed all Departments to share their communication resources with Disaster Management and District Administrations for effective utilization during emergencies.
Earlier, Shri Neeraj Bharati, IAS, Secretary (DM) urged all resource Departments and District Administrations to share the existing communication systems with Disaster Management for strengthening preparedness levels. Smt. Priyanka Kumari, Director (DM), briefed the gathering about the objectives of the conference, which focused on identifying communication gaps and reinforcing the emergency communication framework of the Islands. The event witnessed participation of senior officers from Police, Forest, Andaman & Nicobar Command, NDRF, Directorate of Shipping, Port Management Board, Electricity, Fisheries, Health Departments and the three District Administrations.
In the technical session, various Departments and District Administrations presented details of their available communication systems. The deliberations focused on integration, redundancy, and resource sharing to ensure uninterrupted connectivity during disasters.
A group discussion was held with all Officers of the A&N Administration and other agencies. During the discussion, various modes of fail-safe communication systems to be established in the Union Territory were suggested, and all Departments agreed to share their communication systems for disaster management in the A&N Islands. The NDMA Consultant (Communication) attended virtually and suggested utilizing all available Telecom Service Provider networks in the SEOC and other EOCs to strengthen the communication system in the Union Territory.