If the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) joins hands with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), Pune will be one of the 1,000 cities to become ‘disaster safe cities’ by 2015.

And playing the role of an enabler would be former city municipal commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi, at present based in Geneva. He is back in the city donning the hat of head, Regional Coordination Unit, UNISDR.

“We would like Pune to be among the disaster safe cities and would provide all necessary assistance to the PMC for making it into the big league,” he said. The civic body should submit a formal proposal to be part of the global programme and specify its plan to make the city disaster free, he added.

PMC commissioner Mahesh Zagade said, “The civic body is keen to join hands with the UNISDR to become a member of the elite disaster safe cities.

We will cooperate in all possible manner.”

“The UNISDR and World Bank will provide the financial support if need be to achieve the goal. The idea is to ensure the safety of critical buildings like city hospitals, schools and government offices.” If the PMC proposal is approved, a team of UNISDR and World Bank will visit the city for finalising the project, Pardeshi added.

“Our focus is to work with the local bodies and cities to cater to bigger threat due to climate change. The objective will be to train the staff on implementing initiatives for disaster reduction and also help promote environment-friendly infrastructure,” said Margareta Wahlstrom, Special Representative to United Nations Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction.

There is a need to use expertise in dealing with disasters and simultaneously reducing the risk, she said while seeking information on the PMC efforts on disaster management and reduction. Earlier, Wahlstrom also sought details on PMC efforts towards tackling air pollution and the response from the public.

She asked whether there were any initiatives to discourage private vehicles on city roads and any programme on vehicle free zone. She also sought feedback on the response to public transport system from the masses.