NDMC holds workshop on disaster mgmt for school principals

A Delhi civic body today conducted a workshop on disaster management for around 800 principals of its primary schools to train them to handle situations like the recent Uttarakhand calamity.
North Delhi Municipal Corporation's (NDMC) Education Committee Chairman Ram Kishan Bansiwal invoking the recent disaster said, the "horrendous view of Uttarakhand still haunts us".
"Taking a lesson from it, we must keep ourselves prepared. Delhi falls under seismic zone which means the chances of high frequency earthquake cannot be denied. This workshop is an effort to prepare our principals, teachers and students to deal with such a disaster," Bansiwal said.

Delhi is among 30 important cities in the country that falls into high risk seismic zone (zone IV). Amritsar and Chandigarh also fall under the high risk zone while Srinagar comes under zone V (very high risk), among others, according to a recent government report.
Addressing the principals, Mayor Azad Singh said in the next phase, the training on disaster management will be imparted to municipal teachers in batches of 30 with 10 from one school each.
"This training will not only guide the teachers and school principals on how to minimise the loss of lives and property during any natural or man-made disaster, but also spread the message among the students," Singh said.

NDMC Public Relation Officer Yogendra Singh Mann said the workshop saw a "good attendance from the principals side".
Orientation on disaster management was conducted through audio-visual presentations.
As per seismic map of India prepared by Bureau of Indian Standards, 58.6 per cent areas of the country fall into earthquake zone V (very high risk), IV (high risk) and III (moderate risk).