Centre for Disaster Management

Mission

To assist the state government in prevention, mitigation and preparedness for various natural and manmade disasters through community participation, awareness generat ion particularly amongst the vulnerable sections of the society, involvement of NGOs and media , local bodies , Panchayati Raj Institutions, preparation of standard operating procedures and disaster management plans to handle various types of di sas ter s and capaci ty building of various groups and bodies to handle disasters in the State.

Objectives

1. Impart training in disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, relief and rehabilitation.
2. Undertake research studies , documentation and development of database.
3. Organize state and regional level conferences/workshops in disaster management and related subjects.
4. Actively liaise with state departments for preparat ion of District Disaster Management Plans.
5. Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into development planning.
6. To develop and encourage NGO's network in the state to manage disasters in the state.

Spectrum of Activities

1. Organizing state and district level advocacy workshops on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into Development Planning.
2. Training programmes for community, block and district level officials and other stakeholders on preparation and updating of Disaster Management Plans.
3. Preparation of trainers to provide training in Disaster Management at grass-root level.
4. Organizing state level training programmes on assessment of damages and post-disaster needs.
5. Development of IEC material on various aspect s of di sas ter s and thei r management.
6. Organizing awareness programmes on various types of disasters.
7. Capacity building of NGOs, CBOs, PRIs, ULBs on Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM).
8. Organizing district level training of doctors for mass causality management.
9. Organizing state and district level training on post-disaster response and recovery.
10.Organizing training of engineers and architects on hazard resistance technology.
11.Organizing training programmes for children in school safety programme.

Activities carried out so far

The Centre has so far undertaken a number of capacity building activities including training for preparation of district level Disaster Management Plans. It has conducted 32 training programmes on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) under GOIUNDP Project during the year 2010-11 covering about 1320 stakeholders from Line departments of the state government, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Medical and Paramedical staff and District Planning Boards. In addition, staff and students of 50 schools have been imparted training on safety from different disasters particularly the earthquakes.

Recent Activities

Capacity building for disaster management of education sector (January-February 2012)

Vulnerability of school children because of their young age and large number, calls for capacity building of the education sector to face and manage the brunt of natural and/or manmade disasters. To achieve the objective of building capacity against disasters, a three day programme was conducted at Amritsar District Head Quarters by the Centre for Disaster Management (CDM) of the Institute. Twenty teachers from various secondary and senior secondary schools participated. Amritsar was chosen as the venue for the programme as this region is earthquake prone hence, capacity building of the teachers here assumes high importance. The sessions included familiarization with safeguard techniques like Carotid Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) , first-aid in case of bleeding, care of bone fracture, musculoskeletal injuries, snake bites, fire burns, chemical burns and reviving unconscious victims. The programme also included sessions on search/rescue techniques after earthquake, floods, etc. Demonstration of rescue techniques was done by experts and guided practice sessions were also conducted to enable the candidates to carry out rescue operations on their own and not just wait for the government machinery to come for help.

Following actionable points came up:-

1. Such capacity building programmes are very useful and should be made a regular part of the school activities.
2. The school buildings in the state need to be surveyed keeping in view measures in place for earthquake and fire safety.
3. Unsafe buildings need to be strengthened through retrofitting and other suitable techniques. Any new construction must be earthquake resistant and should be provided with modern fire fighting equipments.
4. Every school should have its disaster management plan.

Community Capacity Building by the Centre for Training to Indian Forest Service probationer Disaster Management at MGSIPAP (October 2011)

The immediate impact of any disaster, natural or man-made is faced by the individual and the community at the place of its occurrence. This calls for capacity building of the community at large to enable them to face and manage the brunt of such disasters. The Disaster Management Centre at MGSIPAP has taken up capacity building programmes for the community to prepare it for such challenges.
A series of capacity building programmes based on Urban Local bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions are being conducted. So far, ten programmes have been conducted in Amritsar and Ludhiana.
A group of 20-30 persons was taken up for each of these fivedays' long programmes. The participants were imparted training on what to do in case of natural calamities like floods, earthquakes and hazards like fire, etc. They were also trained in first aid.
This programme was the first of its kind in the area thus there is a vast scope of such programmes among the community more particularly in risk prone areas.

Competition for students-Painting, Poster and slogan writing on disaster Reduction day.

On the occasion of the United Nations (UN) International Day for Disaster Reduction on the second Wednesday of October, the National Disaster Management Institute, New Delhi proposed to get different events organized in the schools of the State to create about Disasters and their management.
Under the guidance of Director General School Education Punjab, Shri B. Purushartha activities like various competitions of painting, postermaking, slogan writing, etc. on the theme 'Safety from disasters' were held for the school students. Students in the age group of 13-17 years participated in these competitions.

Contact: Shri S S Gill, Faculty I/C, CDM, Ph: 0172 2793589-91 Ext-210, ssgill@mgsipap.org