SRC organizes a 5-day training program on School Safety in Disaster at Shimla

A 5-day training program on the subject began. In this training program organized under the joint aegis of Vigyan Prasar, National Institute of Disaster Management and State Resource Center Shimla, school teachers will be trained on ways to reduce or prevent losses during disasters.

Inaugurating the program, Dr. Om Prakash Bhureta, Director of, the State Resource Center said that most part of Himachal is a disaster-prone area, therefore not only the schools but also the community here should be trained and prepared for disaster management. He said that the experience of working in the literacy campaign shows that no campaign or community work is possible without the participation of the community.

Talking about the importance and necessity of the program, Dr. Irfana Begum, Project Officer, Vigyan Prasar said that disaster management is usually taught or told in books, but the practicality is very different from that. That’s why it is important to talk about some practical problems and experiences in training. Dr. Irfana said that disaster has social, economic, psychological, and environmental aspects. All these topics will be discussed in the next 5 days.

Informing the participants about the disaster situation in Himachal Pradesh, Training and Capacity Building Coordinator Nitin Sharma, who came from the State Disaster Management Authority, said that in the last 5 years, there has been a loss of Rs 10,000 crore due to disasters in the state. Apart from earthquakes, floods, droughts, cloudbursts, landslides, avalanches, road accidents, and lightning are also included in the calamities in the state, which cause loss of life and property. Sharma also included climate change as one of the causes of the disaster. The occurrence and likelihood of avalanches and untimely and simultaneous heavy rains have increased due to climate change.

Sharma informed me that the school security app is going to be launched soon.

Dr. Ajender Walia, the program coordinator from the National Institute of Disaster Management, spoke on the concepts of disaster management. He said that the disaster is not natural. By calling it a disaster, we want to avoid the problem and responsibility. We ignore danger and make it a disaster. Dr. Ajender said that along with disasters, we should also prepare for small disasters that occur frequently. Dr. Ajender also discussed the work to be done after the disaster.

Navneet Dogra, program director of Dooars, a social organization working in the field of disaster management, discussed in detail the nuances and preparation of disaster management.

At the end of the training, the discussion points, suggestions, and recommendations of the participants and resource persons will also be sent to the government.