USDMA starts training for trainers

The Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority began a training programme for members of Yuvak Mangal Dal and Mahila Mangal Dal on Wednesday. The programme is aimed at training members of these groups registered with Youth Welfare department in disaster management, search and rescue along with primary treatment. As part of this 12-day training programme which began at Jolly Grant, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) is training the trainers who will carry forward the training at village level.

According to the disaster management secretary Amit Singh Negi, such training programmes should be held as much as possible down to the block level to make the people aware and capable to better facing disaster scenarios.

The disaster management additional secretary Savin Bansal said that this is a departmental initiative under Vision 2020 to make the villagers aware and train them so that in case of a disaster scenario they can protect themselves and their kinfolk before receiving external assistance.

As part of this training programme, relevant information is also being communicated to the villagers through audio-visual means. The participation of members of both Yuvak Mangal Dal and Mahila Mangal Dal is being ensured considering the need for gender equality to ascertain effective community participation in efforts aimed at minimising the threat of disaster in the state. The disaster management department is also taking the assistance of the State Disaster Response Force  to facilitate the training in an elaborate manner. The SDRF will train the trainers in Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts while in the rest of the districts non governmental organisations will facilitate this training down to the village level.

About 50 persons are participating in the training programme which began on Wednesday.

UDRP PIU holds contractors' conclave

A contractors’ conclave was held by the Road and Bridges, Project Implementation Unit of Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project and World Bank here on Wednesday. The contractors and stakeholders were informed about relevant aspects to facilitate coordinated efforts for execution of the UDRP’s road and bridges unit’s new projects. The PIU programme manager V Shanmugam said that the department will organise such conclaves from time to time. This will ensure that during the time of bidding, the contracts do not face any problems while working with departmental officials. This will also enable transparency in the execution of the projects, he added.