Gairsain (U'khand), Mar 3 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand Assembly Indira Hridayesh on Wednesday accused successive state governments of not learning lessons from natural calamities saying the system continues to look helpless when disaster strikes.

"Our system was helpless at the time of Kedarnath disaster and it was as helpless during the recent calamity at Tapovan," Hridayesh said during a debate in the state Assembly on relief distribution after natural disasters.

Underlining the need for better preparedness on part of the government of a disaster-prone state like Uttarakhand to deal with natural calamities, Hridayesh said an early warning system must be developed to minimise loss of life and property in disasters.

Warning that cloudbursts, landslides and glacial bursts could happen in future too, she said it is time to do some serious thinking and evolve an early warning mechanism by taking the opinion of experts.

Compensation and rehabilitation norms also need to be improved, she said.

Questioning the way relief and rescue operations were carried out in Tapovan, Congress member Karan Mahra said if oxygen could be taken on time inside the tunnel from where bodies were pulled out recently several lives could have been saved.

Speaking on behalf of the state government during the debate, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Kaushik said a team of experts headed by the Disaster Management Secretary has been constituted to study the glaciers and submit its report to the government in view of the state's vulnerability to natural disasters.

Uttarakhand is the first state in the country which is working along with IIT-Roorkee on developing an early warning system on earthquakes. One Doppler radar has been installed and another is in the pipeline that will help in times of floods, landslides and cloudbursts, he said.

Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology is keeping an eye on the Gangotri glacier, Kaushik said adding that 395 disaster prone villages have been identified which will be relocated in a phased manner.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)