Community initiation imperative for disaster risk reduction: Home Minister Aryal

Lalitpur, Oct 13: Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal has said the mitigation of disaster risk in an effective way is not possible in absence of community initiation and engagement.     

During his address at the fourth National Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction organised by the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction -2025 at Khumaltar today, the Minister insisted on cooperation, coordination and participation from all quarters for the disaster risk mitigation and management. "Nepal lies in a vulnerable zone for disasters. While it is a geographically beautiful nation, it is equally at a risk of various natural hazards. It incurred significant damages in the recent disasters," the Minister said.     

According to him, Nepal has witnessed that the disaster hampered the efforts for nation's development. The occurrences of significant earthquakes and landslides have highlighted the crucial need for better management. The government gives a top priority to the disaster risk reduction.     

The Minister was of the opinion that the disaster should not be solely attributed to the nature, but also to social, structural and policy gaps. He called on multiple mechanisms from the centre to local levels working for disaster management to deliver effectively.     

Executive Director at the National Disaster Management Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Dinesh Bhatta, underlined the need of making the disaster management efforts more effective and reliable. He was of the opinion of addressing the frequency of natural disasters lately.     

Australian's Ambassador to Nepal, Leann Johnston, expressed her hope that the event would be helpful in implementing the disaster pre-warning system and exchange of good practices at the community level while addressing the challenges posed by landslides, floods and earthquakes through a gender-sensitive lens.     

At the programme organised by the ICIMOD, Director General Pema Gyamtsho spoke the need of meaningful message for awareness raising, resources management and mobilisation in the relevant field and for disaster preparedness.     

The event concludes next day.(RSS)