Nitish demands compulsory disaster management studies in school

PATNA: Given frequent disasters, both natural and manmade, CM Nitish Kumar said on Saturday that disaster studies should be made a part of school curriculum, so that people become familiar with not only the types of disasters, but also pick up basic knowledge to combat them to reduce human and property losses.
The CM, who was addressing a meeting of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) at Samvad auditorium on the premises of CM Secretariat, also discussed the plans prepared to fight flood menace since monsoon had arrived in the state.
He said that Rs 24.23 crore had been provided to 28 flood-prone districts and the storage of emergency relief items was also being made, so that people concerned, including officials are ready to meet any eventuality. After getting details about the status of embankments in the state from water resources department (WRD) principal secretary Afzal Amanullah, the CM stressed on strengthening communication system, including deployment of manpower concerned, to have on-the-spot information at short notice.
With regard to long-term perspective on the need for detailed disaster management mechanism in the state, the CM said that recent events in Japan, Chile and various other places had clearly shown that disaster management had emerged as a great challenge in any country. Bihar, in the present times, also required detailed arrangement and knowledge to combat disaster situations, he added.
He asked the departments concerned to ensure that any construction, public or private, has quake-resistant structure, which, however, requires training to masons, engineers and contractors. He also said that disaster management committees manned by social workers, influential politicians and those having local experience in combating disaster situations be set up, since their advice would be handy in any emergency situation.
According to him, the state has become a victim of regular flood, quake, drought and cyclones, which cause large-scale loss of life and property, and, therefore, there was a need to establish a national level centre of excellence capable of giving requisite training in disaster management. The institute should be located on the premises of BSDMA itself, he said.
Those who also participated in the BSDMA meet were chief secretary Anup Mukherjee and heads of various departments concerned, besides disaster management minister Renu Kumari Kushwaha.