From Our Correspondent
TURA: It is imperative that every educational institution has a trained disaster management committee (DMC) to minimize casualties during a natural calamity, informed the Commandant in charge, District Home Guards, Tura, Peniwel T Sangma, during the mass awareness programme on disaster management held Friday at Baljek Agal, Jengjal.
The awareness programme was organized by the office of the Assistant Director of Information and Public Relations, Tura and it aimed at involvement of the general public to minimize and mitigate loss of life and property during a disaster through capacity building.
Speaking at the programme, Sangma said that now there is a paradigm shift in the policy of the government in managing life and property in times of disasters.
The government has started involvement of the people through awareness campaigns and training, he informed. He stated that the North East is categorized under Zone Five as an earthquake prone area and that the people of the region had to be prepared for it. He added that it is mandatory for every school to have a Disaster Management Committee.
The Deputy Controller, Civil Defence, Tura, Mainora M Sangma, who was present at the programme as a resource person spoke on the significance of search and rescue teams during disasters and stressed on the involvement of the people in search and rescue operations after a disaster.Personnel from Civil Defence and Home Guards later demonstrated various life saving methods and techniques of search and rescue operations. The awareness programme was attended by teachers, parents and students from St. Anthony’s Secondary School and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya.