RONO HILLS, Jun 19: The social work department of Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) conducted an online capacity building programme on ‘Disaster risk reduction with special reference to earthquake, flood, landslide, fire and other emergent hazards’ from the university here on Friday.
The programme witnessed a total of three technical sessions over eight hours through the Google Meet platform, with the participation of experienced resource persons from all over the country.
The resource persons included Ghaziabad (UP)-based 8th Bn NDRF Commandant PK Srivastava, Bhatinda (Punjab)-based 7th Bn NDRF Commandant Ravi Kumar Pandita, and NDMA senior consultant and retired brigadier Kuldip Singh.
RGU Vice Chancellor, Prof Saket Kushwaha in his inaugural address emphasized on strengthening engineering and technological capacities to minimize disaster impacts. “Building skills and insights of key stakeholders becomes the most viable disaster solution,” he said.
RGU Pro-VC, Prof Amitava Mitra said “the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a leading global initiative on disaster management, recognizes that the responsibility of reducing disaster risk should be shared with other stakeholders, including local government, the private sector and others concerned.”
RGU Registrar, Prof Tomo Riba opined that there are no such things as “natural disasters.”
“Hazards are natural events, occurring more or less frequently and of a greater or lesser magnitude, but disasters are due to risk-blind development,” he said.
Social Work HoD, Dr Kaushalendra Pratap Singh highlighted the need for capacity building programmes on disaster risk reduction.
