Disaster management in school settings was discussed in detail at the second and the concluding day of the national seminar-cum-workshop on Disaster Management-Institutions and Community,on Sunday. Nearly 150 participants including teachers,students,resource persons,security personnel of Panjab University (PU),scientists,engineers and various eminent people from different fields attended the session. The nodal officer of the School Health Programme,U T Chandigarh,Dr Paramjyoti,said: Preparedness is very important to manage disasters,which occur unexpectedly. Talking about disaster management and emergency care,Master Instructor at ITBP,Jitender Singh Bhatia,said teamwork in mitigation efforts at all levels as well as proper resource management were the need of the hour since,we are sitting on the dynamite of disaster which can explode any time. He demonstrated equipment used by security agencies and told the audience about hazardous materials: nuclear,biological and chemical. Dr Durgesh Nandini,IGNOU,Delhi,presented a paper on Disaster management in India: A case study of the corporate sector. The speakers also talked about the past,present and future of disaster management. Radhika Singh,a student of International Communication and Development,City University,London,spoke about the effective communication strategies for disaster management. The valedictory session was presided by Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation,Dr Roshan Sunkaria.
