The Civic body chief says proximity to the sea and location of the BARC are factors contributing to Mumbai’s high-risk status.
The disaster management cell of the city is incapable of bailing citizens out of a possible CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) threat, acknowledged Subodh Kumar, municipal commissioner. Proximity to the sea and the location of the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) in the city are factors contributing to Mumbai’s high-risk status.
During the commemoration of the fire safety week, the commissioner stated that the Mumbai fire department should be fully equipped, and be on its toes to avert such a disaster. But the ground reality appears to be completely antagonistic. The officials from both disaster cell and the fire officials have shrugged the responsibility off their shoulders.
Neither of the departments have specialised manpower, nor a sophisticated mitigation plan to tackle the situation.
“The local fire department cannot be burdened with this issue. The problem of concern ought to be tackled by a specialised cell,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
The department, apart from fire mishaps, handles drowning incidents, building collapses and tree falling incidents. The department reportedly needs more staff for their extra responsibilities. “With the current accountability itself we have staff-crunch,” he stated.
A CBRN threat can cause mass destruction, either natural or synthesised, through chemical agents, biological disaster, radioactive isotopes or nuclear bombs.
A disaster cell aimed at averting such a threat should be equipped with encapsulated safety gears and masks for the staff.
The cell needs decontaminated chambers and bio-science labs, which serve as a public health monitoring system. An urban monitoring guard against the threat is also needed.
“Development of the system, though mandatory for the city, is an exhaustive and exorbitant process. It will cost over Rs1,000 crore to put such a system in place. Also, such an exclusive cell needs the department’s staff to undergo proper training,” said another official.
“If the squad is at risk, how can it save the city from danger? The foolproof system will take around 10 years to implement,” he added. Right now, the city can only rely on NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), which is in Pune.
An official from the disaster cell of the BMC stated that the department is holding meetings with the fire department to develop a mitigation plan for such a threat.
“We have been organising timely seminars, workshops and study tours to augment our services to contain such a threat,” However, the action plan is not a priority right now.
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