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Delhi takes tiny steps towards nuclear disaster management

India's capital is unequipped to handle a nuclear attack

Priya Solomon in New Delhi

Venue: Nehru Place fire station, South Delhi. Time: A blazing June afternoon

Radheyshyam and his ten-odd men prepare for a mock exercise. They are on a 24-hour alert. The news bulletins and their bosses have asked them to be prepared to deal with the catastrophes that an India-Pakistan war may leave behind.

On hearing the alarm bell go off, they rush to their vehicle, zipped up in protective gear including the Delhi fire service cap and boots.

Minutes later, they demonstrate the equipment that would be used for the situation. A new set of machines mainly meant for rescue work when buildings collapse after being bombed or shaken by the force of nature. While some machines could help locate a body out of debris, others could be used for airlifting and lighting arrangements.

It is an impressive show. But how prepared are they for a nuclear war?

Radheyshyam has heard the word 'nuclear' but for an answer he shakes his head and admits, "No."

Pausing briefly, the fireman adds, "But in case of a fire during the nuclear war, we have the equipment to deal with it." He shows the rubber hoses and the generators with plastic wires being handled by his men in cotton uniforms.

The firemen seem unaware that a nuclear attack would incinerate not just them but most of their grossly inadequate equipment as well within seconds.

Radheyshyam may not know it, but officials in the Indian capital have begun the difficult task of putting in place a disaster management plan that would at least help contain the fallout of a nuclear, and chemical and/or biological, attack.

As of now, the entire coordination in the event of a major attack would be directed from Disaster Management Centers that are to be located at various points in the city.

"Long before war, the Gujarat earthquake prompted the city government to come up with the idea of disaster management centers, and over the past year, we have made several additions to the plan," Delhi's Chief Fire Officer R C Sharma told rediff

Besides mobilizing the city's civil defense network, city officials last year also placed orders for sophisticated tools to equip the disaster management centers with firms in The Netherlands and other European countries.

"We already have three rescue responders with hydraulic rescue material, airlifting bags, lighting arrangement equipment, generators, protective suits, gas identification kit, high pressure fog systems, etc," said Sharma.

The city government has also set up three disaster-management centers across the capital city. The centers have been established on the premises of existing fire stations in east, north, and south Delhi.

Under the city government's disaster plan, these three centers would work as the nerve-center of the capital's disaster management. Moreover, to beef up the centers Sharma said the city' government was acquiring three specialized vehicles that can detect chemicals, in case of a chemical attack.

These vehicles, called Haz-Mat (short for hazardous material) can de-contaminate rescue material. The Haz-Mats would have a centralized computer system that would pick up atmospheric content, analyze it, and find the poisonous gases in the air.

The city has also trained over a hundred personnel for specialized disaster management, and at any given point of time, 15 of them are on duty at the three centers. "That is awfully short for a city like Delhi," admitted a senior Delhi police officer, "but it is only a beginning."

Sharma too agreed that three centers are just not enough. "If we have more centers, we would be able to do a better job," he said.

Six officials from this newly raised team are already in The Netherlands to learn advanced management of the new disaster prevention systems. Another 20 more officials are to be trained in Delhi by the suppliers.

"This is a good beginning but we have to see if the system is sophisticated and well-oiled to deal with a nuclear attack before it actually takes place," said a senior Delhi government bureaucrat dealing with disaster management.

All these officials agree that the present disaster management system of Delhi would be of little help in case of a nuclear attack.

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