Community leaders from 11 disaster affected countries of Asia paid homage to the victims of January 26, 2001 Bhuj earthquake here.
Community leaders from 11 disaster affected countries of Asia paid homage to the victims of January 26, 2001 Bhuj earthquake here.
United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP), National Institute for Disaster Management (NIDM) and All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) with key civil society organisations had organised the event yesterday.
The earthquake in Gujarat state had claimed 50,000 lives and devastated its main cities of Ahmedabad, Kutch and Saurashtra region.
"The recovery of Gujarat is unique because it was mainly lead by citizens where the government and NGOs chipped in. There is not a single initiative since Gujarat earthquake that is not influenced or shaped with a motive to rebuild Gujarat," said Mihir Bhatt of AIDMI.
Women's business leader from Nagris Cyclone affected Myanmar saluted efforts of women to recover livelihoods with support from organisations such as SEWA and KMVS (Kutch mahila vikas sangathan) while war widows of Afghanistan admired the business spirit of traders from Kutch and support of GSDMA in rebuilding four towns in record time, he added.
According to him, participants came from Myanmar, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines, and Thailand.
"What could be better than to learn recovery from the community leaders of Gujarat?" said Dr Zenida Delica of UNDP cooperation unit in Bangkok.
"We have heard about social issues being addressed in recovery but to see cooperation in action is only possible in Gujarat," said Ashok Bhule, a representative of Maharashtra government.
Participants from Indian states like Tamilnadu, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Kashmir, West Bengal, Orissa and Andaman Islands also joined in to experience the disaster preparedness initiatives of urban and rural Gujarat following the earth quake.
"We want to make Gujarat achievements available to all, in and around India," Hasmukh Sadhu of AIDMI said.
A women leader Manimegalai from Nagapattinam expressed her desire to bring a delegation of 7000 tsunami affected farmers to Gujarat to show them the economic recovery.
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