Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said engineers should be trained in disaster management techniques so that a comprehensive model can be implemented in urban and rural areas.
“Communities at the panchayat-level in rural areas and at the ward-level in urban areas should be mobilised for disseminating knowledge on possible disasters,” he said at a conclave on ‘Implementation of Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction’ here.
“We do not know when a disaster will occur. We should be prepared to meet any eventuality and minimise the losses,” Singh said. Being a hill-state, Himachal Pradesh is prone to various disasters.
Apart from fire, floods and landslides, it is quite vulnerable to earthquakes, he said.
The chief minister urged experts to help in establishing a multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary mechanism for building a partnership by involving all the stakeholders, and create a culture of resilience in the state.
The government has initiated a process to review and update the HP Relief Manual according to the disaster relief guidelines, he said.
The state and district disaster management plans have been prepared to combat any disaster, Singh said. Special Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management D D Sharma said the state-level conclave discussed resilience action planning and implementing the Sendai framework at the local level.
PTI