IGNOU, NDMA educate people in disaster management

A special workshop on disaster management for those living in areas vulnerable to disasters was jointly organized by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), officials said Thursday.

Undertaken in 54 districts in 11 states identified by NDMA on the basis of their susceptibility to natural and man-made disasters, the workshop was "very well received by the participants as well as other stakeholders".

"The project aimed at building and strengthening the capacity of the target groups in the areas of disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery at the grassroots level; in consonance with the paradigm shift in disaster management in India from 'reactive to pro-active'," said a statement issued by IGNOU.

"In all, 432 face-to-face training programmes lasting two days were conducted at IGNOU study centres. The achievement originated from a scientific methodology adopted through the targeted areas," it added.

The training manual was published in English and also translated in Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya and Telugu. An audio and an video programme were also developed in 8 languages.

"Against the target of 16,200 participants to be covered, close to 16,500 people attended the programme which included 4,623 women," said the statement.

The workshop was undertaken in the wake of the flash-floods and landslide in Uttarakhand that killed thousands and turned many places into ruins in the hill state.