(MENAFN- IANS) Dehradun, Nov 28 (IANS) On the second anniversary of the Silkyara Tunnel rescue operation, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday led experts in discussing the need for robust disaster management and resilient communities in the wake of disasters striking with increasing frequency and intensity.

Addressing the World Disaster Management Conference 2025, Dhami said disaster management in the Himalayan region does not merely represent mountains and snow-capped peaks but a lifeline for the entire Indian sub-continent.

“The Himalayan ecosystem not only has a bearing on the Asian environment but also has an important role in the global carbon life-cycle,” he said.

Highlighting the threat to the Himalayan regions' balance due to climate change, pollution and unregulated development and exploitation of natural resources, the Chief Minister called for an urgent need to address the imbalance being created by these factors.

“The cloudbursts and landslides in the Himalayan region are an indication of these threats,” he said, blaming climate change and extreme weather phenomena for damage.

“Researchers and policy makers need to coordinate well and work in the same direction, and the Summit will serve as a bridge for finding solutions to address the challenges before us,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, disaster mitigation is getting the utmost attention in the country.

He said that PM Modi has promoted a disaster response policy based on four pillars of capacity building, speed, efficiency and accuracy.

He cited the rescue operation at Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel on the Dharasu-Yamunotri section of National Highway 134 in Uttarakhand as an example of efficient disaster management. The incident gained international attention after a landslide trapped 41 workers for over two weeks in November 2023.

He hoped the strategies devised during the conference would benefit not just Uttarakhand, other Indian hill states and the entire world.

The World Summit on Disaster Management (WSDM) 2025 is a global platform uniting researchers, scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and industry leaders to address these urgent challenges.

Hosted by the Uttarakhand Council for Science and Technology (UCOST), this summit fosters experiential learning, multi-stakeholder engagement, and the creation of innovative, scalable solutions for a safer, more resilient future.

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