The PDF Version of this Consolidated Reply can be downloaded at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/drm/cr/cr-se-drm-ict-09100901.pdf (Size: 272 KB)

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SSoolluuttiioonn EExxcchhaannggee ffoorr tthhee DDiissaasstteerr MMaannaaggeemmeenntt CCoommmmuunniittyy SSoolluuttiioonn EExxcchhaannggee ffoorr tthhee IICCTT ffoorr DDeevveellooppmmeenntt CCoommmmuunniittyy CCoonnssoolliiddaatteedd RReeppllyy Query: Disaster Awareness through Common Service Centres- Advice; Examples Compiled by G Padmanabhan and Rajen Varada, Resource Persons and Nupur Arora, Research Associate Issue Date: 22 March 2010 From N. Vinod Chandra Menon, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, New Delhi Under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India is setting up 100,000 Common Services Centres (CSCs) in India. These centres are expected to provide all necessary information to the local communities regarding government programmes. Once operational, they will also process applications from local communities, issue various certificates like income, caste, domicile, and provide single window facilitation for payment of utility bills, local administration taxes, etc. Shrimati Prathibha Devisingh Patil, Hon'ble President of India while addressing both houses of Parliament on 4th June 2009, observed:

"My Government launched Bharat Nirman five years ago as a time-bound business plan for rural infrastructure. It has succeeded in reaching basic infrastructure of roads, electricity and telephone to a large number of villages.... It is also proposed to set enhanced targets for Bharat Nirman in the second phase.... The rural telecommunication target will be set at reaching 40% rural teledensity in the next five years and expanding broadband coverage to connect every panchayat to a broadband network in three years. The scheme for Common Service Centres or e-kiosks will be suitably repositioned to be a network of panchayat-level Bharat Nirman Common Service Centres to provide government services to citizens in rural areas." (Paragraph 22)

The Hon'ble President further included “Electronic governance through Bharat Nirman common service centres in all panchayats in the next three years" as one among the several important the targets before

the Government. This envisages the establishment of CSCs in 250,000 Gram Panchayats in the country by 2012. (To view the speech click here http://presidentofindia.nic.in/sp040609.html) One of the biggest challenges that we have been trying to address on priority is to identify the best means to reach out to the public at large in remote villages and human settlements with useful information on effective management of natural and man-made disasters. We have tried the electronic and print media, but with limited success. Seeing the rich potential of the CSCs in reaching out to the public at large, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India has been engaging with policy makers and implementing agencies associated with the CSCs Project to explore this network as a powerful medium for providing public awareness on effective management of natural and man-made disasters. One of the challenges is identifying the right kind of information and dissemination medium, which will be valuable to communities before, during and after disasters. Information could be shared in form of films, anecdotes, good practices, do's and don'ts lists on floods, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, chemical, and biological, radiological or nuclear emergencies. In order to take this forward, I would therefore like to request the members of the Solution Exchange Disaster Management Community to provide: • Suggestions and ideas on how best Common Service Centres or e-kiosks can be used for

providing public awareness on disaster management; • References of various resources (messages, useful information) on disaster management

that can be shared with local communities, in English, Hindi, regional languages and dialects as appropriate.

We would like to start compiling this information for wider dissemination among the local communities at the grassroot level. Some of the inputs and resources contributed by the members of the Solution Exchange Disaster Management Community will also probably be added to the India Disaster Knowledge Network (IDKN) and/or any other useful web portal, which may want to collate such useful information. With best regards and many thanks in advance, Responses were received, with thanks, from 1. Kris Dev, Life Line to Business (LL2B), Chennai 2. Ramesh Babu, EFICOR, New Delhi 3. Satya Prakash Mehra, Rajputana Society of Natural History, Rajasthan 4. Dinesh Kumar Barupal, UCD Genome Center, University of California, Carlifornia 5. DSK Rao, GyanTech Information Systems(P)Limited, Hyderabad 6. Simanchal Pattnaik, State Emergency Control Room, Department of Disaster

Management, Government of Bihar 7. Anindya Kumar Banerjee, Independent Consultant, Kolkata (Response 1, Response 2) 8. Manish, CCBOS of India, Bihar 9. Sameer Sachdeva, e-Governance Analyst, New Delhi 10. Aamir Ali, Office of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir 11. Ravishwar Sinha, Independent Consultant, New Delhi (Response 1, Response 2) 12. V R Raghavan, Centre for Environment Concerns, Hyderabad 13. Kalika Mohapatra, Independent, Bhubneswar 14. Shashikant Kumar, Green Eminent Research Centre, Vadodra

15. Annie George, BEDROC, Nagapattinam 16. Yatin Sethi, Pankhudi Foundation, New Delhi 17. Angu Ashok Kumar, Consultant, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Kerela 18. Nune Srinivasa Rao, India Development Gateway Project Centre For Development of

Advanced Computing (CDAC), Hyderabad 19. Jitendra Prasad, India Development Gateway Project, Hyderabad 20. A.K. Mukhi, Soil and Land Use Survey of India, Bangalore 21. Shakib Nabi, ActionAid International, Bangladesh 22. S. Janakarajan, Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Chennai 23. Jyotiraj Patra, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK 24. Biswajit Dutta, ValueFirst, Gurgaon 25. Ritesh Saxena, Consultant, United Nations Development Programme, New Delhi 26. Korath V Mathew, DFID, Bhopal 27. Arun Keshav, United Nations Development Programme, Dhanbad 28. Rinku Verma, Civil Defense Volunteer, Jaipur 29. Manoj Kumar Das, GoI-UNDP DRM Programme, Bihar 30. Hari Krishna, Oxfam America, Chennai 31. Rajeshwar Devarakonda, HelpAge India, New Delhi 32. Venkatesh Prasad, Independent, Mysore 33. Sachin S Pendse, District Collector’s Office, Kolahpur 34. George E. Thomas, Tariff Advisory Committee, Mumbai *Offline Contribution Further contributions are welcome! Summary of Responses Comparative Experiences Related Resources Responses in Full Summary of Responses The query on optimising the common service centers (CSC) which have been taken up by the government under the NEp elicited much discussion and highlighted the potential of the CSC’s as a gateway providing all G2C services as they are strategically located at the village level. Responses from members have underlined the important role that CSCs can play in information dissemination on disasters. There has been an overall endorsement and acceptance of the CSC as conceptionaly a sound initiative by the government, although there were multiple issues to be addressed to make them sustainable. Respondents felt the query was appropriate and the concept of using the CSCs for disaster information dissemination would go a long way in building the awareness at the local level. Members with experience in the implementation of the CSC’s at the state and village level along with members with extensive experience in Disaster preparedness together provided feedback to address almost all aspects to be considered for a successful rollout. Respondents cited field studies done on the CSC’s and suggested the introduction of multiple G2C services would provide enough sustainable activity to make the CSC’s viable. Respondent suggested the involvement of Self Help Groups along with other community based organisations playing a greater role in the CSC centers similar to the “community resource centers”.

Respondents from grassroots organisations provided information on the status of CSC’s in their areas and suggested ways to address the gaps that impeded the successful implementation of the project. Members voiced that although there was much interest and thrust in making the common man aware of the CSC programs there was still resistance by local leaders on providing information on government services. Most members reiterated their support to the CSC program many respondents opinioned that there was a significant gap between the center and the implementation at the local level which resulted in a lack of commitment and understanding of the CSC project. Members cited a few outstanding examples of the CSC but respondents felt that this was mostly due to the initiative of a few individuals championing the cause. Addressing the specific inputs requested by the NDMA to create 'Disaster Awareness through Common Service Centres' respondents felt that in the three stages of a disaster management the “Before” stage of preparedness was most important. Respondents cited good examples of awareness programmmes and the publications of handbooks that provide information on disasters Before, During and After. Members stated that Disasters like Drought, Floods, Earth Quakes, Tsunami etc need a lot of more effort at the 'Before' stage in terms of Preparedness, which can happen only when serious efforts are put in by Governments/Authorities. The responses from the members addressed three distinct areas for the query poser to consider.

1) Enable the CSC to become universally functional, viable and acceptable. This would address the three essentials of ICTs - Connectivity, Credibility and Capacity Building.

2) Clearly define "disaster awareness" Which would decide on the kind of information to be given to the citizens to prepare them during disasters to prepare them Information and Knowledge Sharing: Early Warning: Vulnerability and Resources mapping through GIS: Capacity Building.

3) Formulate ways to disseminate the information through multiple delivery mechanism at the local level. Members opinioned that community radio and SMS/ mobile-based services linked to the CSC should be considered as they were the most popular in rural areas. Members further suggested the use of local language television channels, could be tapped for generating awareness on disasters and could provide essential information and various updates.

Respondents also pointed out the need in the formation of a Monitoring Body to penalise the state govt or any agency found guilty of misusing the public money in not promoting the project of CSC. Respondents also cited that it was important for the Experts of the e-Governance in the center to engage with each state for a longer period of time to offer help and advice in consultation with the VLE's/ SCA's and SDA. Members of the ICTD and disaster community came together to address the needs of the NDMA in dissemination of information. It was felt that this topic requires a more serious deliberation, which could be conducted by following up the discussion with a national workshop involving all stakeholders. A collation of the inputs could go into the design of the dissemination plan. Finally members cautioned against making the CSC a panacea for all problems and felt that a lot of expectations were riding on the on the person running the centre and probably owning the business as well and their opinions and willingness needs to be considered. Related Resources

Recommended Contacts and Experts

Mr. Mr.Ranjit Kumar Maiti, Special Secretary (P & RD Dept) and Nodal officer for CSC in West Bengal , West Bengal (from Anindya Kumar Banerjee, Independent Consultant, Kolkata) WBCS (Exe), Special Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Government of West Bengal; Tel: 2243-9040/41;anjitmaiti@gmail.com;

Mr. Ranjit Kumar Maiti, Special Secretary (P&RD Department) and Nodal officer for CSC in West Bengal and can be consulted to get ideas on the initiative.

Recommended Organizations and Programmes Common Service Centre, Department of Information Technology, New Delhi (From N. Vinod Chandra Menon, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, New Delhi) http://www.mit.gov.in/default.aspx?id=825

Provides information on a large ICT government initiative that can generate substantial social returns; can be used for providing public awareness on disaster management

Life Line to Business (LL2B), Chennai(from Kris Dev) B4, Ashok Suparna, 27/12, 3rd Main Road, Kasturiba Nagar, Adyar, Chennai-600020,; Tel: 044-42115995;http://ll2b.blogspot.com/

Carried out research on CSCs; study recommends making CSCs citizen centric and that all Government to Citizen services, including disaster awareness must route through CSCs

United Nations Information Technology Services (UNITes) Programme , Orissa(from Simanchal Pattnaik, State Emergency Control Room, Department of Disaster Management, Government of Bihar) UNDP, 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi; Tel: 91 11 4628877;

Intended to educate rural communities on IT applications and its effective use for disaster preparedness by setting up IT Kiosks at Block and Panchayat levels.

From Anindya Kumar Banerjee, Independent Consultant, Kolkata Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), Mumbai Plot C22, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai 400 051; Tel: + 9122 2653 3333 / 3232; Fax: Fax No. info@ilfsindia.com; www.ilfsindia.com, http://www.csc-india.org/Home/NLSA/tabid/707/language/hi-IN/Default.aspx;

Is the National Level Service Agency to plan, manage and facilitate implementation of the CSC project on behalf of and under control of Department of Information Technology

National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) Department of Information Technology, New Delhi, Ministry of Information Technology, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India, Electronics Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi- 110003; Tel: 011-24363104, 24301268; http://www.mit.gov.in/default.aspx?id=827

Promotes single window delivery system for better service delivery, ensuring efficiency, transparency and reliability of services including by local governments

National Institute of Smart Governance, New Delhi Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 16; Tel: 26581029; http://www.nisg.org/;

NISG implemented Mobile Governance in West Bengal which helped improving Disaster management efforts in the state

Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, New Delhi Ministry of Information Technology, Electronics Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, New Delhi; http://www.mit.gov.in/contactus.aspx; http://www.mit.gov.in

The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is the ultimate authority for all IT related projects implemented and executed in the country.

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Tamil Nadu (from Sameer Sachdeva, e-Governance Analyst, New Delhi ) 3rd Cross Street, Institutional Area, Taramani, Chennai - 600113, India; Tel: +91-44-22542698, 22541229; Fax: +91-44-22541319 ;mailto:hmrc@mssrf.res ;http://www.mssrf.org/tsunami/tidal_tragedy.htm

The telecentres developed by M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation were great help during the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004; can be referred for ideas.

Health Management and Research Institute (HMRI), Hyderabad(from V R Raghavan, Centre for Environment Concerns, Hyderabad) Beacon Towers, Beside Saptagiri Theatre, RTC Cross Roads, Musheerabad, Hyderabad - 500020;

HMRI has set up Flood Information Centres for providing information on health in Andra Pradesh; such centres could be used to disseminate information to people

United Nations Development Programme, New Delhi (from Kalika Mohapatra, Independent, Bhubneswar) 55 Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110003; Tel: 46532333, 24627612; http://www.undp.org.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80&Itemid=163

Had set up IT kiosks in Orissa after super cyclone to help the affected people and government in coordinating the reconstruction process.

Question Box, United States of America(from Yatin Sethi, Pankhudi Foundation, New Delhi) Open Mind, 1158 26th Street Suite 267, Santa Monica, CA 90403, United States; http://questionbox.org;

A simple medium that can be useful for education and awareness about disaster management issues and other applications in rural areas

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad (from Angu Ashok Kumar, Consultant, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority) "Ocean Valley", P.B No.21, IDA, Jeedimetla P.O., Hyderabad - 500 055 India; Tel: 91-40-23895000, 23895002; Fax: 91-40-23892910; webmaster@incois.gov.in; http://www.incois.gov.in;

Provided Digital Display Board for livelihood development of Fishermen community, spotting Potential Fishing Zon and Alerting system during Emergency in Kerela

Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Switzerland (from Nune Srinivasa Rao, India Development Gateway Project Centre For Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Hyderabad) P.O. Box 2049, 1-3 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland; Tel: +41 -22- 9097200; Fax: +41-22-9097292; http://www.akdn.org/india.asp

AKDN has established Instax a bulk SMS communication system, to inform local fishermen and community about Flood or Cyclone alters

From Shakib Nabi, ActionAid International, Bangladesh Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai P.O. Box 8313, Deonar, Mumbai 400088 Maharasthra; Tel: 91-22-2556 3289; webmaster@tiss.edu; http://www.tiss.edu/institute.htm

Works to provide a professional response to national calamities, through relief, rehabilitation and disaster management; has developed Village Service Centres in Andaman

Kutch Navnirman, Kutch

Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan, Dr. Rajaram Campus, Nr. St.Xavier's School, Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat; Tel: 91-2832-221379/221382/226564; Fax: 91-2832-221379; mail@kutchabhiyan.net; Ms. Sushma Iyengar

Consortium of 22 NGOs in Kutch working on rehabilitation and reconstruction; developed Village Service Centres in Gujarat after the earthquake

Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA), Orissa (from Jyotiraj Patra, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK) Danipali, Budharaja, Sambalpur, Orissa 768004 ; Tel: +91-663-2533597; Fax: +91-663-2533597; http://www.biswa.org/en/index.php?option=com_contact&view=category&catid=12&Itemid=57;

Carried out a programme on Participatory Geographic Information System focusing on integrated mode of information generation, dissemination and validation.

E Seva, Andhra Pradesh(from Rajeshwar Devarakonda, HelpAge India, New Delhi) Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.; Tel: 040-64621291,64558811; http://www.esevaonline.com/;

A successful government initiative seeking to redefine citizen services using state-of-the-art technologies.

Recommended Tools and Technologies Wimax wireless technology (from Dinesh Kumar Barupal, UCD Genome Center, University of California, Carlifornia) Technology; Owned by Intel, United States of America. Available at http://www.intel.com/technology/wimax/

Technology enables pervasive, high-speed mobile Internet access to the widest array of devices including notebook PCs, handsets; can be utilized for this purpose.

Related Consolidated Replies Communication Strategies for Disaster Preparedness and Warning, from Anshu Sharma, SEEDS India, New Delhi (Examples, Experiences). Disaster Management Community, ICT for Development Community, Issued 18 June 2007 Available at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/drm/cr/cr-se-drm-ict-16060701.pdf (PDF, Size: 311 KB)

Provides experiences and examples of using ICT, particularly FM radio, TV and internet, to provide disaster messaging before, during and after disasters

ICTs for Community-Based Early Warning Alerting Post for Landslide Hazards, from Praful Rao, SaveTheHills, Kalimpong (Advice; Experiences). Issued on 8 April 2009. Disaster Management Community, ICT for Development Community Available at: http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/drm/cr/cr-se-drm-ictd-05050901.pdf (Size: 272 KB)

Shares modles of ICTs for community based alerting posts, and information on various ICT tools available for generating Early Warning Alerts

Setting up Emergency Community Radio Stations in Flood Affected Areas of Bihar, from Sajan Venniyoor, Community Radio Forum, New Delhi (Experiences; Referrals). ICT for Development Community, Disaster Management Community. Issued 19 September 2008 Available at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/ictd/cr/cr-se-ictd-drm-03090801.pdf (PDF,Size: 288 KB)

Recommends volunteers for local support to set up emergency radio stations in Bihar and provides scripts for programmes.

Mobile Phone SMS Based Relief Management Package for Disasters - Advice; Referrals, from Rajen Varada, ICTD Community, Solution Exchange, New Delhi. (Advice; Referral) ICTD Community and Disaster Management Community. Issued on 24th October 2008 Available at: http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/ictd/cr/cr-se-ictd-drm-06100801.pdf (Size: 139 KB)

Shares views on use of cell phones to send messages during emergencies and comments on the features of the application at www.sms4help.org

Responses in Full Kris Dev, Life Line to Business (LL2B), Chennai The query posted by Vinod Menon is interesting. The best way to reach out to citizens during normal times as well as during disasters for mitigation would be through the CSCs being set up in every Panchayat. It should be extended to every hamlet. From our field studies, the CSCs are presently practically dysfunctional. To make them fully functional and citizen centric, all G2C services must be routed through CSCs. For this the CSCs must be integrated with the Panchayat, Block, District, State and national servers in a hub and spokes model of connectivity with a single system of online data transfer and de-centralised and centralised storage of information. For this an integrated open source e-Administration tool integrating the various public and private service agencies on one side and citizens on the other side would be required. Every citizen / organization must be identified by unique anonymous biometric smart card and all communications / transactions must be tracked online. Proof of Concept for such biometric identity and transaction tracking has already been carried out. More at http://ll2b.blogspot.com. Ramesh Babu, EFICOR, New Delhi The concept of Common Service Center is superb. People in the community will be more aware of not only various provisions/entitlements of the government but also their work will be reduced as they are accessible with the information and concerned materials. One of the ways this can be effective is entrusting the responsibility of the functions of the centers to local Self Help Group (SHG). The SHGs and other people initiatives (PI) in the community will have to come together to educate themselves about the resources and ensuring to take up the whole information to the entire community through effective community mobilization process. Perhaps, the PRI or local school teacher should extended necessary help to the SHGs or PIs to take up this concept vibrantly in the communities. These groups should also ensure quick results or response from the local administration on submission of any form or request for the betterment of the community. In some of our field projects, we have a similar concept called "community resource center" which provides information on the govt schemes and keeps applications of caste, income, nativity etc. certificates for the benefit of the community and it is functioning under the supervision of the Village Development Committee or Disaster Management Committee. Once it is legalized, I think it can be more effective and people can be educated on the issues of disaster on more regular basis.

Satya Prakash Mehra, Rajputana Society of Natural History, Rajasthan I would like to present my views on the issue raised. If there is political will than everything is possible. I would rather say that every government is taking lots of steps in the field of mass awareness for a common man, unfortunately the local leaders and few people do not want the awareness as we came across while working in the rural areas of Bharatpur. CSCs are fantastic move but let's wish that it could get the success. Unfortunately the new developments take place with a loud voice through media coverage and statements but on the ground the local set up spoils all the schemes. Similar issue happens with NGOS as well. If scheme of CSCs have to be made successful than the top authority should be committed for the responsibilities instead of depending on the local administrations. Further, the grass root level workers should be identified and trained. It is hard to identify the grass root worker but it’s not impossible. It only requires true commitment of government side or implementing agency. Dinesh Kumar Barupal, UCD Genome Center, University of California, Carlifornia My opinions are below • Wimax wireless technology should be utilized for this purpose. The technology provide high speed

wireless connectivity for internet access in 30 miles radius. • Awareness should be increased by Sarpanch. Make him responsible for organizing camps,

movements and meetings. • The best way would be a national wide planner which instructs a sarpanch to organize camps at

CSCs. Where CSCs will host visual presentations of audio and video materials. PowerPoint slides, movies files, audio clips, animation and even PDFs could be such materials.

• We should develop a database of socially important person in rural India. Rural India exist within groups of people and meetings on street corners. Socially high profile persons always affect mentality of poors. They are the best candidates to increase awareness in between a large portion of population

• Instruct political party organizations to follow disaster management planner at each CSCs. • Use advanced publicity materials at panchayat level. http://ucso.tamucc.edu/forms/2006-

2007/RSO%20Handbook%20Important%20Chapters/Chapter%2011%20-%20Publicity.pdf Here are many nice ideas to increase publicity.

DSK Rao, GyanTech Information Systems(P)Limited, Hyderabad The proposal by NDMA to create 'Disaster Awareness through Common Service Centres' is interesting. Yes, the CSCs, as and when they get ready (2012) can also be used to spread awareness about Disasters, provided what needs to be communicated is clear and more importantly we have identified personnel/processes to tackle various disasters. There are Three stages of a Disaster namely before, during and after. The 'Before' stage is very important which calls for high level of fore sightedness and planning, which if done improperly done leads to large scale casualties 'During & After' the Disaster strikes. The 'Preparedness' is what is needed in this stage. As an example

'As per the Indian seismic zone map, Delhi and its surroundings are placed in what is termed, seismic zone IV (zone V implies the highest and zone IV is reasonably expected to sustain a shaking of Modified Mercalli Intensity VIII (on a scale of I to XII) in the future'. Now, Delhi is thickly populated and God Forbid, if a high intensity Earth Quake occurs near Delhi, that would certainly lead to massive casualties as the High Rise Buildings are constructed with Heavy Concrete Beams , which are responsible to deaths in Earth Quake Disasters! So, according to me Delhi's 'Preparedness' for Earth Quakes is very poor and it may need lot of Awareness Campaigns to tackle Earth Quake Disaster to minimize loss in the eventuality of a major earth quake. I am recently invited to a three day workshop on revising Sphere, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response. The Handbook appears promising for During & After phases of a Disaster. Disasters like Drought, Floods, Earth Quakes, Tsunami etc need a lot of effort at the 'Before' stage in terms of Preparedness, which can happen only when serious efforts are put by Governments/Authorities. Simanchal Pattnaik, State Emergency Control Room, Department of Disaster Management, Government of Bihar It’s really a good opportunity, especially for the rural communities for effective use of IT applications for getting information about their basic needs & services, lives and livelihood, Knowledge sharing and many more. Similarly use of this CSCs for the purpose of Disaster Management at community level especially for creating awareness and practicing immediate response to any disasters will be an another opportunity. In this context I would like to share my ideas that I had experienced under the United Nations Information Technology Services (UNITes) Programme of UNDP implemented in few 1999 Supper Cyclone affected blocks of Orissa during 2001-2002. The programme was intended to educate the rural communities and other stake holders on IT applications and its effective use for the purpose of disaster preparedness by setting up IT Kiosks at Block and Panchayat levels. As an IT Facilitator, I used to train the rural youths, women groups, school students, Public representatives and local government functionaries on computer applications and Internet services in free of cost. Then the target was to train them how to use this IT kiosks before / during/ after any disaster for fetching information, Issue warnings, communicating others about the prevailing situation, grievances and ask for the help/ assistance from and to the concerned Government authorities. To make these IT kiosks more efficient, we also used to keep information about various Non Government /Government schemes, guidelines and facilities those are expected by communities for finding out their livelihood. Other services provided in those IT Kiosks were like free of cost publication of exam results through internet, free of cost computer training to educated youths and school students, special trainings to Government functionaries on computer application and their use in daily working environment etc. Our focus was mainly to use the IT application in the rural affected areas for better and prompt disaster preparedness as well as enhance the capacities of rural affected community to achieve their livelihood. And to get the best result we used to keep the information about various Government / Non Government schemes and their guidelines and provide other services like trainings, grievance sharing and its application in normal life. Where as in this programme Government is going to set up CSCs/ IT Kiosks for sharing information, providing services, capacity building etc and Disaster Management will be emerged with that.

So to make it more effective in the field of Disaster Management and use it especially for spreading awareness and better response on disaster management, following activities may be taken up Information and Knowledge Sharing: First of all, these kiosks can be used for gathering information about various disasters, their impact & consequences and preparedness/ mitigation/ prevention measures etc through internet. Early Warning: These kiosks can be used for disseminating warning of various disasters and their impacts on the society and lives. Similarly community can also inform about any emergency situation and ask for the help and specific assistance. Information on various services can be provided that help them to rescue the lives and properties. Vulnerability and Resources mapping through GIS: It would be more appreciated if Vulnerability and resource mapping can be done through GIS for that particular community, where the IT Kiosk / CSCs will be set up. This will help the local residents to know exactly their vulnerability to specific disaster and locate/ mobilize resources that can save their lives and properties in a very quick manner. Capacity Building: The CSCs also can be used for capacity building of local residents by providing online short term course/ training programmes on life saving skills and immediate response mechanisms to specific disasters to cope with available resources or as a resource center of Disaster Management. Volunteer’s databases may be created and kept for utilization of services of various professionals / experts during the time of need. Anindya Kumar Banerjee, Independent Consultant, Kolkata (Response 1) I am a member of the ICTD community, Solution Exchange who has seen all the 2 sides of the CSC. I have worked with NLSA (National Level Service Agency) in preparation of the RFP Volumes for the CSC project, did a pretty tough excursive in sensitising the SCA's (Service Centre Agency) the crucial Private Partner in the biggest PPP Project of India. I then worked with the SDA (State Designated Agency) in implementing the CSC project with the SCA's and NLSA. And can also proudly say that the state I was involved in is the most difficult as well as very successful till now. The third and final part is I worked independently to understand the pain areas of the VLE's (Village Level Entrepreneurs) all throughout the tenure of about 3years. All I can say it began as a very ambitious project for Government of India, Department of Information Technology, but took off only in a few states as mostly in all states the ownership was given to IT Department which probably has least hold on the PRI's be it the Block or the Panchayats. I am yet to see the G2C services rolled out although my home state Chhattisgarh has done best model, but fact remains the VLE's are bleeding mostly everywhere, I have been speaking about this project in my own group in linkedin.com "NeGP" (National e-Governance Plan) with almost 250 members from the private and governments accross the world, and am yet to see services other than collection of electricity bills and telephone bills or disbursement of loans. G2C services are not taking shape because of some reasons: • No champion exist in each of the Government Department and there is no attempt to make one • No effort from NLSA regionally to sensitize the Government officials on promoting things toward e-

gov • The SeMT/Similar bodies are not ready to share good practices nationally • There is absolutely no sharing of truth vs reality on CSC by any state or NLSA whatever is available is

not updated • The efforts of DIT-MCIT is not working in the true sense on the ground • There is a lot of pilferage of funds given to SDA/SCA for implementing the CSC Project

• In almost all seminars or forums people speak in English where as the multilingual effect is missing also the speakers are mostly "renowned" e-Gov champions and not the VLE's who are the face of the Government in the grass roots.

I recommend the formation of a Monitoring Body other than NLSA is must to penalise the state government or any agency found guilty of misusing the public money in not promoting the beautiful project of CSC. I also recommend that the Experts of the e-Governance be available in each state for 15 days for help and advice in consultation with the VLE's/ SCA's and SDA. The VLE's are trying to get bonded for worse than good there should be an exercise each month to award them for good work. There should be a limit to extortion from the VLE's and also they should be given enough freedom to innovate. Coming to Disaster Management: In the state of West Bengal during my tenure as e-Governance consultant we did a great effort on disaster management by implementing Mobile Governance with help of NISG as consultant and MCIT as the funding agency for 54 Panchayts and 5 blocks under 2 districts. This was also complemented by Solution Exchange as considering it as the CHAMPION project in the Year 2006-07. The details have previously been posted on the Solution Exchange as well. Also here the usage of multiple languages is going to be tried soon. I would like to add that CSC's are open for 8-9 hours in a day and lesser on weekend or holidays and no disaster comes with time foretold so CSC's cannot help but VLE's can as they live in the rural areas, if Government of India takes an initiative then Community Radio's can be installed in each CSC/Panchayat for dissemination of any alert on Disaster. Think about it the cheapest and most easily available media in Rural area is still a radio / transistor. Manish, CCBOS of India, Bihar This is good news for us. Government of India is setting up Common Service Centre (CSC) in the all panchayat in the country. But it should not be only on the paper, it should be connect with the grass root level, gram Sabha and the people. It should be touched with publics heart. If gram sabha understand about it then we can go forward. Without Gram Sabha it’s difficult to get success in this field. We should organise the awareness and protection programme of Disaster Management minimum on the Panchayat Level. We should involve to every NGOs, Educated Person, school student, senior citizens, farmers, workers labors, member of gram sabha, head of the panchayat etc. If we ignore them, we never success over any types of problem, disaster and programs. Gram Sabha will monitoring the panchayat level program and CSC. Every Gram Sabha capable to handle to it. We should improved in infrastructure in bureaucrats. Bureaucrats is main pillar of the program. Corruption is create problem to implement to the government progarmme. Sameer Sachdeva, e-Governance Analyst, New Delhi CSC can play an important role in Disaster Management through multiple means:

• CSC can become a central point of information dissemination to victims through multiple channels

like Radio, Public Address Systems, SMS, Central Helpline Number • CSC can be used by remote villagers as means to report a Disaster to nearby District

Headquarters • It can help to transfer information on Disaster / Disaster Alerts from the Disaster Management

Authority in Delhi incase if advance knowledge is available • CSC can also centre for information on relief measures carried out by Government • At a later stage the CSC can be used for information dissemination on claims for Government

Grants and Financial Assistance for disaster victims • It can become a helpline to find family and friends lost or dead in disaster • The CSC can also provide information on evacuation coupled with various other means like Radio,

Public Address System • It can help the relief workers to coordinate for emergency Food, shelter, water and medical

assistance • CSC can be Government Announcements in case of Disasters • It will inform the victims (through volunteers) about contact details of local help near their

destination • CSC can also become central point to look into impact assessment at a later stage • In case of preparation for disaster CSC can provide general information on disaster and steps for

immediate response – Floods, Fire, Earthquake, Tsunami, Volcanoes, landslides, droughts, storms, nuclear threats, Biological threats (threats like plague, SARS, H1N1), chemical threats

However having said above the CSC or the Bharat Nirman Centres are located in villages and will be affected by the disaster. Internet / Phone and other communication means will be the first to affected by the disaster. But for sure these CSC coupled with Public Address System can in some way disseminate the information to the villagers. Further if a emergency option of satellite connective is added there can be some help and if the CSC are built at a safer site (analyzed by the Disaster Management Authority) they can be further help. Also there are a few success stories of use of Telecenters in case of Disasters. The telecentres operated by M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation (http://www.mssrf.org/tsunami/tidal_tragedy.htm ) were of great help in the Tsunami. Will be glad if someone associated with the project add some details on that. Aamir Ali, Office of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir In Kashmir we have started an SMS service, where we encourage people to register and through the medium of this SMS. We are sending message alerts to not only those who’s CV have been registered but also others. There are many private entrepreneurs who have also started this SMS service and on minimum wages they have engaged part time reporters or citizen reporters. We are able to receive alerts of accidents, or any mishap in seconds. in fact the officials in police department receive the message in the official wireless network much later. this has improved our response time and enhanced our capability to cope up with any disaster manmade or natural in Kashmir, which is in fact vulnerable to both disasters. Ravishwar Sinha, Independent Consultant, New Delhi (Resposne 1) The efforts of the Government in aiming to set up the service centers in all the Panchyats is indeed very laudable. The nice note of yours is self explanatory. Thank you. There are some points, that come to my mind, having both worked at these levels and policy levels and also as a citizen who feels very much frustrated when trying to access the present services. These are :-

• What shall be the role of these CSC centers vis a vis the existing ones? Their inter relationship is important.

• The monitoring parameters if developed or in the process of development to see that the aims are fulfilled in practice and the measures envisaged, if they are not.

• What are the anti corruption measures at the ground level? • The extent of empowerments envisaged at the Panchyat and block level to optimally utilize these

centers. • What measures are envisaged to reach the services to the approx 30% of the households who

are economically and socially and educationally still on the way to basic development? • What are the measures for the immigrant population specially to the urban slums from the rural

areas, which may be nearly 30to 50 % specially in unorganized and officially unrecognized habitations?

• How confidentiality will be protected of the citizens? • The public and private partnerships in development and management of the program? • I am sure ground level research will have gone into before the planning of the step and most of

these would have been addressed or be in the process. I am sure members would like to know Look forward to the exchanges With best wishes and highest regards V R Raghavan, Centre for Environment Concerns, Hyderabad We are been speaking of some time that there should be constant source or facility to generate awareness to the community in disaster prone area and even in new areas (like recent floods in Mahabubnagar and Karnataka which is drought prone areas). Traditionally, people look at institutions like PRIs, Block level officials and at the most the district collector to provide information and generate awareness. Of recent times, the mushrooming of television channels, which provide various updates. Thus facility could be tapped for generating awareness on disasters. Another important service centre as in case of Andhra Pradesh is the services of 108 (Emergency Services) and 104 (Health Services). HMRI is a not for profit registered society engaged in designing, proving and standardizing and scaling up cost effective solutions for easy access to qualitative and scientific practices of health care. Senior experts of the organization through their studies identify problems, issues and concerns in health care and develop solutions, field test them in pilots and prove the concept and advocate with the concerned for implementation at larger scale sometimes in the entire state. HMRI also manages and operates such solutions in partnership without a profit motive. HMRI provides both virtual and physical health services, like 104 - Call centre provides information on health is now operationalised as Flood Information Centre. Such call centres could be used to disseminate information to people. Secondly, 104- mobile services which covers 39 million people who live in 60,000 odd villages (beyond 3 kms radius of the nearest PHC) and provide health services. these mobile health services cover about 22,000 service points every month. Thus these facilities could be tapped for generating awareness on Disasters to the community. These are few quick thoughts to share. Hope it helps.

Kalika Mohapatra, Independent, Bhubneswar ICT plays a crucial role in facilitating the reconstruction process and in coordinating the return of those displaced by disasters to their original homes and. Response activities, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, can be made more effective by the use of appropriate ICT tools. These include tools for resource management and tracking, communication under emergency situations (e.g. use of Internet communications), collecting essential items for the victims/affected population. The first IT kiosk with internet facilities was set up by UNDP in 2000 at Ersamma block and later in other affected blocks after super cyclone to help the affected people and government in coordinating the reconstruction process. After the success of IT Kiosks some more IT kiosks were established with help of government, NGOs and youth clubs for promotion of disaster preparedness activities in coastal Orissa. Basically these IT Kiosks are functioning as the resources centers and provided information to the community on followings: Weather information- downloading weather report and shared among the Disaster Management Team (DMT) members for preparedness, one copy of the weather report always available on center for public. List of IAYs beneficiaries, other assistance information were also available for common people. Information on resources: location of cyclone shelters, trained volunteers, trained masons, building centers, health facilities and risk areas are also available in the centers and center facilitators is responsible to update it with help of local DMTs members. Information on common health problems and agricultural activities are also there and people are accessing information for their benefit. Some of the IT kiosks are served as Agricultural information centers, where people access the information various types of agricultural activities, seeds, pesticides and fertilizers. Some centers are also served as training centers with collaboration of local agriculture officer. Disaster Preparedness activities: soft copies of village and GP disaster management plans are available and people are updating it on regular interval in IT Kiosks. Do’s and Don’ts of various disaster and information on preparedness and mitigation activities both soft copy and hard copies are available in the center. These centers are served as information center and help the community in taking decision on preparedness and other activities. Centers are having lists of agencies responsible for various activities, important telephone numbers and websites and trying to establish linkages with local administration during the time of disaster. Some of the centers are managed by Gram Panchayat, by NGOs and some centers are managed by the local institutions such as school and local youth clubs. Apart from information sharing most of the centers are earning revenue by conducting computer trainings, selling forms for various developmental programme, sharing results of various examinations. Some of the centers are also taking lead role in disaster preparedness activities at Gram Panchayat level as well as community also. For successful running of the centers (IT Kiosks) need to establish linkages with various service providers and needs to up date the information on time. DDMA and SDMA can have linkages with these centers for sharing information on disaster management, early warning etc in local languages, so that common people will be getting benefit out the information. Shashikant Kumar, Green Eminent Research Centre, Vadodra Its good idea for the common service centres (CSC), but the system requires full participation of all tiers of governance. How this partnership between the Centre, state and local government would be developed for this CSCs? Why not start linking the research institutions across the regions and state to

participate in the project? We may see priority of states differs while dealing with disasters. It would be better we may start some activity on the proposed line and see the results. Its functional issue between the governance first, the content and work of the centre needs to lined out to suit the requirenments at the local level. Right if we distribute and collect the information regarding the grass root requirements. Not all technology savvy or aware of the requisites of the e-governance. The burden of existing system is very large given the schemes and workload for implementing the programmes. Lets engage some more players, including the private parties, NGOs, community and individuals who are interested in taknig the CSC idea to the ground. Information Requirements: Nature of disaster, Mitigation Plan, help sought, manual for disaster response, impact assessment teams, disbersal of relief, insurance requirements, Claim formalities, State/local disaster teams, Quick Response cells (local), State Level Assessments formalities. etc. (Information can be placed in different tiers of governance) Technologies: Remote Sensing, GIS, Internet, Modelling and large scale data management. All these requires serious deliberation on the aspects of disaster V/s e-governance. It would be better a workshop in all the states or region to be organised which should result in outcome for the participations as well as models requires to be placed in the system design. Ready example of similar system is not available except VIS (ISRO) project. Annie George, BEDROC, Nagapattinam While I would agree that a single- window system like a CeC is an excellent idea, I would also caution you on the challenges in running such a centre, that is supposed to be the panacea for all ills, at the village level. We are placing a lot of expectations on the person running the centre and probably owning the business as well. While the material/ information can be collated, developed, standardised etc., I feel we also need to provide great deal of thought to the dissemination of the information so collected. One of the issues is the "push-pull" mechanism required to attract the citizens to a centre. A disaster is not important till its hit. So how best to "pull" the people to the source of information or how to "push" this information to the people probably needs to be given due thought. Here, the concept of SHGs floated by one of the respondants seems to be a good outreach mechanism. It would also be good if we define "disaster awareness". If it is just information on the disaster per se, even fliers would do the job. So I assume we are talking about value addition in terms of precautions, safety routes, safe structures in place, and other disaster response factors. In this case, rather than looking at the CeC as a provider of information, it would be good to visualise the CeC as a facilitator or a platform for developing such "disaster awareness". This once again brings us back to the ownership. Probably, in this case, the PRI should be given the responsibility and the CeC should be looked upon as a Secretariat. I am sorry for taking this off tangentially but, often, its the operational glitches that form the "slip" between the cup and the lip. Yatin Sethi, Pankhudi Foundation, New Delhi I recently read about a new project which might be helpful. It is currently being piloted in Pune (India), and also in Uganda (Africa).

Question Box - a free telephone hot-line that is meant to get information to people in remote areas who lack access to computers. Users place a free call by pushing the green button. They connect to an Operator sitting in front of a computer with internet acess. Users ask the operator questions in their local language. The operator goes online and finds their answers, translating English results back into the local language. They now can run completely off the grid, using mobile phone and solar technologies.

Read more at: http://questionbox.org http://questionblog.posterous.com/ This simple medium can be useful for education and awareness about disaster management issues and other applications in rural areas. We would need to think creatively on different ways to implement it. Angu Ashok Kumar, Consultant, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority. With all due respect to the Honorable President of the Nation and leading National Disaster Management Authority, I am addressing here the query raised by Prof. Vinod Chandra Menon, sharing some of my personal experience in Disaster Risk Management Programme in Tamilnadu and Kerala Under the Banner of UNDP India. The Paradigm shift in Disaster Management, from Risk Management to Risk Reduction helps me, to foresee CSCs as various valuable resource to the community members as following, which can possibly used as a converging platform for the cross cutting issues of Development and Disaster Management in the following ways:

as LMC: Last mile connectivity points, while working with the Community Based Early Warning System Project of UNDP, at ground level we struggled a lot to decide on where to place the VHF Radio sets, taking into concern the safety and maintenance factor. CSCs would have been a better place, irrespective of the it’s working hours, since the system was Automatic, hardly required 5minutes attention of the public, just to check whether its switched on, battery working properly as such. as KMC: Knowledge Management Centre, while working in Community Based Disaster Risk Management Project of UNDP, we could find that lots of other agency as same as UNDP, has implement Disaster Preparedness and Response Training by forming Task forces, Disaster Management committee etc. But there is lack of a platform where these knowledge and skills can be converged for sustainable growth of those teams and committee. If tried to converge these at District level or Taluk or Block level, due to the process of mobility, either it lost sustainability or created further confusions. So CSCs can be a better source for Knowledge Management at field level. as RMC: Risk Mapping Centre, Urban or Rural, the Vulnerability and risk factors for the local community varies from each others. PRA and other scientific GIS or Micro Zonation Tools can be applied to Map the local risk factors. When it comes to District or Taluk or Block Level Mapping, it’s very hard to maintain all these data. Instead the CSCs can maintain these records, which can be even accessed by the District Administration at times of emergency. as IEC: Information Education Communication, the sustainable triggering of the community regarding their vulnerability and Response can be done through IEC, Even the cross cutting Development issues can be sorted out for Better Disaster Management. Say for instance, Indian Nation Centre for Ocean Information Studies (INCOIS) Digital and LCD Display Boards, which came as tool for livelihood development of Fishermen community, spotting Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) and Alerting system during Emergency for sea related Hazards. Awareness Generation can be in the form of Videos, short films, plays etc., which is also interesting in terms of common public, dubbed in the local language, highlighting these above factors to make people realize the need for Preparedness, which is also a development Concern and conveying a simple Fact "The Best way to Handle Emergency is to Prepare for it..." Nune Srinivasa Rao, India Development Gateway Project Centre For Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Hyderabad It is an excellent Idea. It is possible to reach the disaster management information to rural people. I have associated with Aga Khan Development Network during 2007-09 for Post Tsunami Project in Andhra Pradesh. During the period, The AKDN, Krishna District Administration and District Information Office (DIO) jointly piloted INSTAX software at District Information Office at Machilipatnam. The INSTAX is developed by Centre for Good Governance (CGG). Instax is bulk SMS communication system. The Uniqueness in the software is we can post bulk SMS through this software. We informed the local fishermen and request them to register their mobile phone numbers at Centre. Most of the mobile users are registered and recieved SMS during the period about Flood or Cyclone alters. Whenever they are getting alerts, the local fishermen passing the message through early warning system (EWS)/Public Address System (PDS) . Similarly, the INCOIS is also setup electronic display boards (EDB) in various south Indian coastal villages. The fishermen are accessing the Potential fishing zone, tide, weather forecast etc. If you analyze these two programmes, the continuity and sustainability are the drawback. If we involve the Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) and Service Centre Agency (SCA) in the process, then the programmes will success.

If NDMA or any national level agency initiate ICT tools like set up the SMS gateway and Online services, the agency may provide various services (paid/ Free) through SCA and VLE like Voice messages , text messages on Weather, tide, awareness, technical advices etc. The CSC will get membership from NDMA and access various Services through online. The CSC acts as a bridge and delivers the various services to rural people. The rural people will register their mobile numbers at CSC or they can post their queries to NDMA through CSC. For each transaction, the VLE will get the nominal commission. In the same way The CSC may setup EDB at the centre with the help of INCOIS and S/he may maintain the EDB and other related services. Similarly, the CSC VLE will announce the disaster alerts through Public address system with the help of NDMA, for each service, the VLE get nominal amount from local panchayat/ NDMA/ Others. The VLE can continue his services, providing latest disaster alerts to local people through SMS, Online, PAS, EDB etc, getting revenue from there services and finally the CSC can sustain and also rural people can saves their lives from natural disasters. Jitendra Prasad, India Development Gateway Project, Hyderabad Really, Bharat Nirman Common Service Centres has that level of potential to work as a G2C and G2C Service Delivery Channel and "Total Transformation Centre" in rural India. Because of, through that CSCs Entrepreneur, directly we can have contact to all villagers of the country. As community members may knows that Government of India/State Government setting up 01 CSCs for every 6 villages and that Village Level Entrepreneurs-VLE (Operator of CSCs) have easy access to all the surrounding villages of their area. In the field of "Disaster Management" that VLEs could be one of the best "Medium" to disseminate information among target groups to bring awareness about natural disaster. But, in this regard following three Cs is very crucial: Connectivity (broadband etc) upto that Centre Credibility of VLEs in the society Capacity Building of VLEs to disseminate the Disaster Management related information CSCs can play very crucial role Before disaster to bring awareness and After the disaster to help the affected family and person. Role of CSCs in disaster management: • Distribute and disseminate the awareness kit to every family • Organize community level meeting in the surrounding villages to bring awareness about disaster • Telecast the film on Disaster management through local operators • Registration of Mobile No. of individual who want regular message about Disaster Management

through SMS • Assess the preparedness of disaster management in every season and send report to NDMA • Prepare the database of all Pregnant women and infant, so that they could be helped in advance. • Collect Life saving Kit from NDMA and make available to community members. At first, National Disaster Management Authority should develop a state wise database of specific disaster i.e. Flood/Cyclone/Landslides, prone area and according to that precautionary measure should be started. For this purpose, Film and leaflet or booklet (in pocket size) should be developed in regional languages and that should be handover to the VLEs to distribute that leaflet or booklets to every family of their area. Dissemination material should carry following information: • What kind of Disaster is possible in their area • How they can minimize the effect of that disaster • What kind of remedial instrument or other things should be available in their house to face the

disaster • In case of emergency, where and whom they should contact • What precautionary measures should be taken at Community Level to mitigate the effect

Pocket booklet carries above information should be distributed to every person so that they can use that information in emergency. For illiterate people Film can be developed and broadcast through local cable operators on weekly or fortnightly basis. If the cable operators are not available for any area then that Film can be played on DVD player and TV at Community Centre of that village, once in a week. But, in the case flood, their timing is generally July to September, then before and during that month frequency of awareness programme could be increased. A.K. Mukhi, Soil and Land Use Survey of India, Bangalore The Common Service Center should remain operational 12 months and 24 hours so that they are ready to be effective at the time of natural or manmade disaster, they cannot remain operational in absence of disasters, so they need to be occupied with the work/information input of agriculture, livestock and health related information, mobile banking and collection of data for the various government scheme and implementation of National Rural employment scheme and its payments etc. I have worked out a plan for the same and if needed can be discussed in more detail at the appropriate time. Shakib Nabi, ActionAid International, Bangladesh I know quite a number of organizations working in different parts of India working on setting up and operationalizing the Village Service Center. Examples could be cited of TISS in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyaan in Gujarat etc. These are some of the successful initiative which can be explored further. I also had the privilege of observing these initiatives from very close quarters. Some of the challenges related with it are the knowledge about the Village Knowledge Center among the community. The community has to be oriented on the utility of these centers so that they access the services provided by the center. Now coming to the specific issue on spreading the messages on Disaster Preparedness through the village knowledge center. While interacting with a group of PRI members in Andamans, it came out very strongly that registration of all the community members should be made mandatory with the center. The registration process should also focus on the most vulnerable section with the household like PWDs, pregnant & lactating mother, old age person etc so that special messages are conveyed to them related with Disaster Preparedness. Some of the PRI members during the discussion even suggested that the rights and entitlements of the community should be linked to registration of the members with the centers. Some kind of a mechanism also needs to be developed wherein the community is encourage to have a very dynamic and active interface with the Village Knowledge Centers. I am also of the opinion that these centers should be owned and managed by community or community based institutions. S. Janakarajan, Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Chennai A agree with Annie George. As such the idea of CSC cannot be disregarded. But I would like all concerned to give some thoughts to the following questions: • In what way the CSC is different from Village Information Centers (VIC) or Village Knowledge Centers

(VKC)? • A vast majority of these Centers (VIC and VKC) are inactive or closed or disfunctional for want of

resources and manpower. Therefore, before starting any new initiatives, it would be useful to take stock of the earlier initiatives and learn from the past experience. Without learning from the past, there is no point in building hopes on the new initiatives.

• Please document peoples' views on the existing VICs and VKCs: To what extent local community uses these Centers?

Jyotiraj Patra, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK Information is power and this is well reflected in the way information supports and sustains community-based institutional mechanisms for human development including disaster risk reduction. With regard to the information for disaster risk reduction, the processes and products associated with information generation and dissemination should address and ensure the following issues at the community level:

• Availability • Accessibility • Assimilability and • Accountability

These distinct but well integrated dimensions ensure the alleviating power of a definite quantum of information. Information available at a given point in time may not be accessible to the intended users because of many of the existing socio-cultural impediments and political inequalities. The content and language in which a given set of information is provided may not be understood and assimilated by the communities to get the best out of the information. More importantly, in a densely networked information age, where the sources of information are diverse, from government agencies through to civil society organizations, an institutional mechanism ensuring the ‘accountability’ of information generated and disseminated is very much lacking. This is partly because of the exclusionary modes of information generation and dissemination in society. Processes of information generation are mostly scientific in character driven heavily by technological innovations and instruments. I would urge members to go through the recent article in The Guardian 'Without Warning' (2nd October 2009). I wanted to share with the community some of the experiences /understandings gathered through extensive discussions and filed research with the coastal communities-at-risk in the state of Orissa: • Content and context of the information: The quantum of information generated, interpreted and

disseminated to these communities through a specific mode, is very often developed along the line of one-size-fits-all. During the Super Cyclone of 1999 although the information regarding the intensity of the cyclone was communicated to the district authorities and again to the communities, the authorities and communities were not in a position to prepare themselves for the unfolding disaster. This has been well documented in a research publication entitled “'We All Knew that a Cyclone Was Coming': Disaster Preparedness and the Cyclone of 1999 in Orissa, India…” published in the journal Disasters, 2004. Volume 28 Issue 4, Pages 373 - 387.

• Information and Capacity Development: Providing information and developing the capacities of

the communities to capitalize on this information have to be well integrated. Coastal Orissa, which has become the ‘ground zero’ for many natural and technological disasters, have seen a flurry of activities around ‘information communication’ and ‘dissemination.’ Trainings in Ham Radio, mock drills and related activities are part of these initiatives at the community level. Such activities centered around the provisioning of information do play a significant role in disaster preparedness and risk reduction by contributing towards the adaptive capacities of communities.

Information generated through scientific investigations and calculations may be ‘sound’ but in order to make this ‘socially robust’ and ‘politically just’, an integrated mechanism of information generation and dissemination has to be adopted. Dissemination through the traditional media like news papers, television and radio do ensure the reach of the information. This could further be complemented through

community-based traditional institutions and art forms. Rather than being seen as ‘passive information users’, their potential as ‘active information producers’ should be capitalized through an integrated institutional mechanism of information generation. Challenges of contextualizing the information with the existing socio-political and cultural context could be addressed through careful, participatory, regular and systematic Information Needs Assessment (INA) exercises at the community level. This will also address the gender dimensions of the information as information needs of men and women are different and a ‘community’ is not a homogenous entity with equal needs. Towards this end, Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA) in Orissa has initiated an innovative action research programme on Participatory Geographic Information System (P-GIS) in the coastal districts of Orissa focusing primarily on integrated mode of information generation, dissemination and validation. By triangulating the information from remote sensed data and other scientific sources with that of the perceptions and understanding of the coastal communities-at-risk, P-GIS works towards an informational infrastructure that deals with the issues of ‘uncertainty’ and ‘adaptability’ before, during and after a disaster. The Common Services Centres (CSCs) could indeed deliver as effective nodes of integrated information generation and dissemination at the community level. Mechanisms of real time and evidence-based information generation and monitoring should be an integral component of the CSCs. Biswajit Dutta, ValueFirst, Gurgaon It’s really nice to have such interesting posting from you. In extension to the CSC initiatives, I would like to mention certain ICT developments as bellow which can add value to present disaster management technologies. 1. CSCs could be integrated with Unicode Messaging (in local languages) solutions which would enable to send SMS alerts in case of emergency. 2. To overcome language barrier and non adaptability of SMS, CSC can be Voice enabled so that registered citizen can get emergency Voice call alerts in local languages. Use Cases: - Registered citizen can get alerts in Epidemic (FLU), Flood, Drought etc. - SMS reminder can be sent to registered parents on Polio vaccination etc. Ritesh Saxena, Consultant, United Nations Deelopment Programme, New Delhi The query posted is interesting and raised at the right time when Ministry of IT is planning to implement its CSCs across INDIA. There is no doubt that the best way to reach out to citizens during normal times as well as during disasters for mitigation would be through the CSCs being set up in every Panchayat with internet connectivity BUT we should also keep in mind that at time of most of the natural disasters the internet connectivity is also lost. Though if there is internet connectivity no doubt the CSCs and other IT kiosk will serve the purpose of information dissemination and taking corrective measure.

However we should also think of implementing the use of mobile telephony which are now doing wonders and apart from getting what the internet does for us in some countries it is also serving as Mobile bank. this will be cost effective and easy to integrate as now our villager are already using the mobile phones. Korath V Mathew, DFID, Bhopal The question is how? Here in MP we have Mponline which has over 2000 Kiosks acting as CSCs. Single window for a host of services. Entirely on PPP model and earning revenue for the state without spending any money while providing good citizen service round the clock. Earlier I had seen a mail which said there are no successful CSCs in India. I would like him to visit Madhya Pradesh and see for himself. Arun Keshav, United Nations Development Programme, Dhanbad Reading comments of many of our esteemed members on CSC I felt many of us are quite skeptic as far as the success of CSCs are concerned. However, I feel there would be a consensus on the unparallel strengths of internet as a medium and it could be expected that in due course of time, like many other technologies, it would be well assimilated by the very adaptable rural India. Further, we should appreciate the initiative of GoI to start 100,000 CSCs thereby increasing the reach of computer and internet. Let’s draw a premise that CSCs function as expected, in such a case, coming to the query, how best Common Service Centres or e-kiosks can be used for providing public awareness on disaster management? (My working experience has mainly in moderate risk zone, hence my ideas are from that perspective) I think, we should begin with a basic question that why our target audience (especially the most vulnerable extremely poors, older population, women, children, physically challenged etc.) would be interested in awareness campaign on disaster risk management? Though we would like them to seek our messages and information actively and associate with our campaign and take things forward by themselves, I think such a response will hardly be there over a period of time. The logic for such anticipation is that there is an opportunity cost[1] attached to it i.e. to manage a potential future shock one has to invest present resources (time, attention, energy, financial resources etc.) anticipating that it will help him in future. However, looking in to the scarcity of resources with extremely poor and vulnerable and the magnitude of present shock (unfulfilled basic needs) it would not be fully wise on our part to expect that the poor and vulnerable would part up with their present resources for addressing a potential future shock. Which means, instead of they seeking us, we seek them more actively. Following could be few ways (indicative): Media Vehicle Many of the Govt. schemes are aiming to address the present needs of the population, information in this regard is sought actively by our target audience, we could use these as our media vehicle for communicating our information and messages. Message design Our messages should not be very lengthy or complicated. We should try to communicate through picture messages with captions in regional/ local languages. (In designing messages we may take cue from

advertisement of many successful products which as a thumb rule do not promote more that 3 USPs , eg. When ever one thinks of maggi noodles one associate it with 2 minutes, its new communication is- fast to cook good to eat. The messages some time could have fear appeal, as used by insurance ads. Also repetition is very important for achieving top of the mind recall.) Content and timing Message should be such that the audience could associate his or her experience with it and it should initiate a thought process (eg. Use of stats of that particular area and not state,national or of whole of world). It should be based on inputs from Hazard and vulnerability assessment and not very generic but customized. Also, risk associated with hazards like lightening, heavy rainfall etc increases during particular period of the year. The frequency of messages associated with preparedness for these could be increased in the right time so that people remember them when needed the most (eg. In Jharkhand every year many lives are lost due to thunder bolt). Supplementary ideas to make our communication though CSC more interactive and effective: • NDMA through CSCs could distribute free popular songs and videos with short breaks in which our

messages could be given, the songs should be such which could be loaded in mobile phones. • Mobile and computer games could be produced and distributed free through CSCs on various

situation of disaster and player has to save some one caught up, work on mitigation, preparedness aspects.

• Competition like drawing, coloring, essay writing could be organized by NDMA through CSCs, entries could be sent through email or post. Cash prize could be given. A third party could be appointed to promote, organize and document the things; posters of best entries could be made and distributed in that particular area. The CSCs should be given incentive based on no. of entries sent by them.

• Instead of only one way communication, option for both ways communication should be kept open. Inquisitive minds of youths may have some queries, provision for sending such queries should be made and it should be answered promptly by any competent person (s)appointed my NDMA.

• Screen savers of the computer could be on various phases of disaster risk management. • Paper used for printouts in CSCs could have picture messages printed in the footer. • Early warning issued by Met department would be of interest to our target audience the messages

could be communicated through sms via our CSCs (free program for sending bulk sms could be given to CSC) but an incentive based model has to be worked out for effectiveness.

Thumb rule of keeping the message short and simple is being violated. My reply has become little too long!!

Rinku Verma, Civil Defense Volunteer, Jaipur Setting up CSC in village level is really nice and far sighted idea of our government. CSC can help in implementing and publishing the government policies and programmes. we can think about role of CSC in disaster management because it is like decentralizing unit and with direct touch with community peoples. In my point of view before we decide role of CSC in disaster management, we have to see about infrastructure of CSC. A few suggestions are:

• The location and architect of building must be fully disaster proof in storm, flood and earthquake like conditions.

• Assure complete electricity supply for this center, as most of our village are facing power cut situation most of time.

• Appoint highly trained staff in disaster, weather and software and hardware related issues.

• Direct linkage with meteorological department, center for climate change and District administrative officers.

• Staff should be good known of local language and culture. • These CSC can work as shelter house in case of emergency. • CSC should be built at easily approachable place in village in normal as well as disaster

conditions. • Every CSC should have data of local area e.g. population, number of water resources, available

water in resources, type of soil, vulnerable area or buildings, vulnerable populations, maps of village including every streets and entry and exit points.

• Involvement of local peoples and NGOs with CSC is very required. At the end, I am very happy with this type of news from government, but we have to think about infrastructure because our policies fails in infrastructures. Manoj Kumar Das, GoI-UNDP DRM Programme, Bihar All esteemed members The 100,000 Common Services Centres (CSCs) in India. will ultimately play the role to empower the rural population. With the help of these centers we can reinforce the effect of awareness on various kinds of safety measures to various hazards. With my experience I would like suggest following points:- • TDUs :- These 100,000 Common Services Centres (CSCs) may be used as a TDU so that it will

display the use of Earthquake Resistivity Techniques and help the community to improve upon their construction standards. These tips also can be displayed in the walls of the CSCs.

• Safety tips with different benefits under CRF:- We can go for a combined approach of the safety tips and the benefits under the CRF norms for the same hazard. For example if we can go for safety tips of fire with what are the benefits / provisions in CRF/NCCF for the same it will have more impact on public.

• Vulnerability Assessment: - These centers can also be used to keep a track of the history of disasters that have occurred in the area of coverage of the CSCs and also can go for vulnerability mapping with the participation of community or by involving the young generations.

• Development of proposals /Questioner /Competitions:- As Disaster Management is included in different types of course for the School children’s it will be better to involve these community with CSCs by going for development of short term mitigation proposals or we can go for different national level competitions/ Questioner on the relevant topics to involve the young generations .

• Resource Centers:- These center can also be used as resource centers where different materials / guidelines can be available specific to è Safety construction manuals for masonsè Alternative cropping patterns for farmers è Role of school children in different phase of disasterè Monthly movie show on different hazards / other development issues like AIDS / Child labor è Role of women in preparedness and response

Hari Krishna, Oxfam America Chennai Common service centres have a great potential to provide disaster awareness and this potential must be tapped. I'm delighted to know that government is moving in this direction. It will indeed be a significant step towards reducing disaster risk on large scale and creating a culture of preparedness. I would see this working very well if the centres are used to provide information on multiple risks rather than focusing on big disasters. That doesn’t mean that information on big disasters need not be provided. If there is an increased risk awareness, people will develop the culture of preparedness.

I hope that a good number of such centers will be set up in urban areas also, as there is an increasing number of small medium and big disaster taking place in urban centers. Adding to that, urban dwellers are less aware, more casual and least organized compared to the remote rural communities. I live in a multi storied apartment in a big city and I would like to avail the following services from a CSO (this is not a exhaustive list. A CSO can do much more) in my area: • Corporation tax invoice-letting me know about updated information on Earth quake resistance status

of my building, what I should do in case if there is an increased risk due to recent developments such as land excavation, fly over construction, etc.

• Water board half yearly invoice can let me know what are the recent flood protection measures taken by the corporation, what are the chances of monsoon flooding in my area and what I should do in terms of preparation before and what I should do in the event of flooding and where and how I should go?

• Electricity board monthly invoice can let me know updated information on the load taking capacity of my building transformer. What I should do and shouldn’t do in monsoon with my electric appliances, what precautions my building electrician should take in the rainy season to avoid mishaps and what I should do in the event of earth quake or when my building is gutted by rioters or terrorists.

• Telephone/mobile invoices, bills can also carry the information about what can happen to my communication systems in the event of a mishaps like disasters, rioting, etc. What I should do and shouldn’t do in sucha situation to make most efficient use of telephone instrument and avoid congestion and panic.

• When I visit a common service center, I will be delighted to see all important information posted on walls and bill boards. This information can include contact numbers to dial in emergency, basic statistics about my area that gives me the environment in which I’m living and make own assessment of risks and information about first aid training centers so that I can learn first aid to be of help to others in a crisis.

Rajeshwar Devarakonda, HelpAge India, New Delhi While I do agree with Annie and Janakarajan, the issue of importance is as to how to we look at “Disasters”. If we start looking at disasters as the fall-out of unmitigated risks, and then start working on identifying the risks, building capacities of people to act on the risks then there is light at the end of the tunnel. To elaborate further we provide information to build resilience of the communities at risk by not just on safe housing and roads and safety routes and evacuation plans but also as on insurance products available, the individualised building plans (say I have x amount of money then within this money how can I have a disaster resistant structure would be value-add which DST can definitely participate in), the various “regular” government schemes, availability of revenue records etc and available in vernacular. then the CSC could be a good idea. • Do a Product Efficacy Survey through Large Scale Participatory Interaction Processes as to what

they expect from the CSCs and where did the VICs/VKCs fail their expectations (an add-on to Janak’s thoughts)

• In the mean-time have a prototype with all the suggestions received. The e-Seva concept of

Government of Andhra Pradesh ('One-stop-shop' for over 66 G2C and B2C services ) is a reasonably successful initiative in value adding to a Value-neutral IT and making it work, and most e-Seva counters are staffed with more than three people not just one, indicating it to be a business model available.

• With so many quakes happening in the Asia-Pacific too many “Cry wolves” is happening. Hopefully the Wolf does not devour away the sheep. Real-time link to these CeCs with the prediction systems and stimulation models with an automated alarm system.

Venkatesh Prasad, Independent, Mysore The following discussion definitely throws up many unaddressed questions. I work in the field of ICT4D with an NGO called IT for Change, and I have seen that most of such ICTDs are entrepreneur models. In the discussion, we totally forget to look at the 73rd and 74th amendments. And start looking at everything under the lens of PPP. In the present discussion, I would very much like to hear what role can the Gram Panchayats play? How can gram panchayats initiate such public spaces using ICTs. Especially changing the situation of citizen and government relationship of rights and obligations (of course given that we are a welfare country) and making it into a service provider and costomer!! We should look into the aspect of bringing in Gram panchayats as they are the last layer of governance. I am sure, much of what we look at are governance issues. Ravishwar Sinha, Independent Consultant, New Delhi (Response 2) The opinions given by contributants is all encompassing. Thanks for this educative input. Having served both in Govt and International agencies and coming from an area that is disaster prone and has floods as an annual feature, I fully appreciate the need of the community to take the initiative. Let me share this-- the community does know most of the things historically, specially in the chronic prone areas. The resourcing, communication inputs and scientific approach are the major innovations that the community should be made aware of and given access to. The last thing that one would want is Governmentisation of the disaster management. However, this does not aim to belittle or minimise the role of Government in any way.It is pivotal. The perenial question is HOW? Well for one , the community must know what to expect,where to excpect from and how to access the assistance with dignity and honour. They need both empowering training and rights based instructions to be in place.Promises made should be kept. Credibility is an important factor. Monitoring and evaluation and reflective discussions with the community and the players are essential to take the process forward. Sachin S Pendse, Tolani College Of Commerce, Mumbai I happened to see the comments and would like to add on the issue. No doubt use of communities in rural areas will be excellent breakthrough in Dm, The local organizations, senior citizens can be used in two ways. 1) Youth for training and actual force at time of disaster. The involvement of youth gives them a feeling of responsibility. Further their enthusiasm and strength can be put to use more effectively. Youth also means school children as said "catch them young', through scout and guide programmes,

or other school activities, like projects. Creating awareness at young age will help DM preparation in longway as we create an already aware generation. 2) Senior citizens for their Knowledge/experience particularly in situations of local disasters like landslides, floods etc. Anindya Kumar Banerjee, Independent Consultant, Kolkata (Response 2) Although Mr. Prasad’s question is easy to answer yet I will ask you to kindly visit the website of Government of India MIT www.mit.gov.in and Look into Volume 1 and 2 then on you visit the website of Government of West Bengal Panchayats and Rural Development www.wbprd.nic.in and look out for Tathya Mitra (the name of CSC in West Bengal) and then on speak with some of the officials involved like Mr.Ranjit Kumar Maiti, Special Secretary (P&RD Dept) and Nodal officer for CSC in West Bengal or write a mail to him he too is a member of this valuable forum (ranjitmaiti@gmail.com) he will quench your thirst for sure. If you ask me why then I would say that West Bengal is the First state where P&RD Dept was chosen as the Nodal agency and also the first state where signing of MSA and implementation started before Jharkahand. George E. Thomas Tariff Advisory Committee, Mumbai

I would like the following thoughts of mine to be circulated for views of the members:

The nation's thrust on Financial Inclusion would require the poor and vulnerable villagers of India having access to banking and insurance services. How far can CSCs be used for the purposes of Financial Inclusion such as Creating awareness on banking and insurance concepts and Providing information on local bankers/ insurers/ micro-finance / micro-insurance organisations. Giving simplified guidance on schemes/ plans that suit the target population in local language so that they get the desired advantages of the welfare schemes. What are the best ways of using the CSC channel for making banking and insurance services available to every citizen of India.

Many thanks to all who contributed to this query! If you have further information to share on this topic, please send it to Solution Exchange for the Disaster Management Community in India at se-drm@solutionexchange-un.net.in with the subject heading “Re: [se-drm][se-ictd] Query: Disaster Awareness through Common Service Centres – Advice; Example. Additional Reply.”

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