Awantipora, Oct 14: To mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) held a day-long workshop on Monday. The workshop was organised by Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction, IUST, and sponsored by Department of Disaster Management Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (DMRRR), Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
The event titled ‘Empowering the Next Generation for a Resilient Future’ featured inaugural, poster and technical sessions. The inaugural session started with a screening of a short film on Disaster Management produced by Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (DJMC) highlighting disaster risks and preparedness.
In his presidential address, Prof. Shakil A Romshoo, Vice Chancellor IUST, emphasized on the disaster vulnerabilities and the need to devise mitigation strategies and integration thereof in course curricula from School level onwards. He reaffirmed IUST’s commitment in knowledge generation, dissemination and contribution to policy formulations.
President, Nepal Centre for Disaster Management, Prof Bishal Nath Upreti who was the chief guest on the occasion, shared a four-pronged strategy to mitigate disaster risk. “These include having a clear understanding of the disasters, improving governance, investing in disaster preparedness and enhancing a response mechanism,”. He added that every year, tens of thousands of people die because of cyclones. “Disasters are not going to stop, but we need to work on our disaster preparedness,” he said.
Guest of honour and Under Secretary, DMRRR, Government of J&K, Snober Jameel, said, there is a need to generate awareness among youth to build a resilient future and help them be prepared to fight any disaster. While lauding the IUST for organising the workshop, she said, this is a platform for all of us to “share our knowledge and learn from the experts.”
Prof Shakeel Ahmed Visiting Professor IUST, said that while it is not possible to completely eliminate disasters, “we can always minimise the risk by building skills for disaster management.” Earlier, welcoming the guests, Dr Irfan Maqbool Bhat, said the workshop should help create knowledge that shall ensure a safer future for the people of J&K. The proceedings of the inaugural session were conducted by Dr Heeba Din, Assistant Professor, DJMC.
Later, a posted presentation session was held, which was followed by two technical sessions on earthquake hazards and GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) hazards, where leading experts from J&K and other parts of India shared their valuable insights on the strategies and tools that could be used to ensure a disaster resilient future.
