By IANS,
Mumbai : A citizens’ group Thursday urged better emergency preparedness, sophisticated weapons, better coordination among different security agencies and effective communication to prevent incidents like the Mumbai terror attacks last year.
Releasing a white paper entitled Crisis Management in Mumbai, Narinder Nayar, head of the NGO Bombay First, said the document is the outcome of a joint summit organised with another NGO, London First.
Bombay First has called for setting up directorates of Crisis Management and Civil Defence to handle crises like 26/11.
“Our international discussions and those with our overseas counterparts concluded that in order to tackle challenges like 26/11, it is imperative to have better coordination, command and control,” Nayar said Thursday – March 26 – exactly four months after the attacks which left over 170 people dead.
“The Maharashtra government is considering sending a delegation to London to see the systems that they have put in place there which has protected the British capital from further terror attacks,” he said.
Nayar said that there was a need for a change in public attitude towards the government and its functioning. “Though the state is responsible for security, involvement of the citizens is a must – ‘Security is Everyone’s Business’ should be the motto if we want to bring about change.”
Among the recommendations, Bombay First stressed the importance of good communication within the Crisis Management Team and with the public.
Nayar said since Mumbai has among the highest population densities in the world, it is important to make use of road and sea transport for emergency teams to rush to the scene of a tragedy.
At such times, public participation must be increased and better crowd management helps the authorities perform better, he said.