Governor Shekhar Dutt on Wednesday said that people residing near mishap sites can help the victims to get timely and proper medical treatment for saving their lives.
‘The country’s statistics is enormous on death and injury from road mishaps, train and fire accidents, the deadly global spread of bird flu infection, the Avian Influenza infection and the natural calamities for which nobody gives a thought and never come forward to offer help.
We do not understand that our family members could also be victims of such accidents or natural calamities,’ the Governor said while speaking at a programme to commemorate the 150th year of the International Day of the Red Cross at the New Circuit House in the city on Wednesday.
The programme was organised by Chhattisgarh State Branch of the Indian Red Cross Society.
Dutt said that blood donation brings no harm to the donor. ‘We need to ensure creation of safe and capable system for healthy blood collection’.
He said that various competitions must be held at the block, district and state-level for motivating the youth for generating awareness regarding maximum amount of blood donation from among the people.
‘We need to generate a high level of awareness towards blood donation and healthcare among the general public, Dutt said, while adding that the average life expectancy for a person in Chhattisgarh is 65 years while in Kerala it is 75 years.’
The Governor said that the country’s youth need to be made better citizens by generating awareness through dissemination of information on first aid and hygiene.
More importantly, the organizations such as the Red Cross, need to strengthen themselves further to deal with emergency situations, he said.
Telling about the history of the Red Cross Movement, Dutt stated that Sir Henry Dunant , its founder, about 150 years ago formed an international committee for providing assistance and service to the injured in Geneva which later came to be known as ‘The International Committee of the Red Cross’.
‘The Red Cross while putting humanity above any discrimination globally had been providing its services to the victims of war and civil conflicts besides the ill and the victims of natural calamities’, he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Chhattisgarh unit of Red Cross Society and Principal Secretary, Health, M K Raut in his welcome address stated that a thought originating from Henry Dunant emerged as a ‘voluntary movement’ during 1859 with Red Cross now having branches in 150 countries.
The Red Cross made its identity felt during the second world war for the first time when it reached relief supplies and medical services to the victims in the war zones, he said.
Raut informed that Red Cross drug stores in a total of 18 districts in Chhattisgarh would make available generic medicines 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
At the same time, the spirit of blood donation and service is being generated through the medium of Junior Red Cross and Youth Red Cross in the State, Raut said.
Representative of International Committee for Red Cross Society Manini Subramanian said that the organisation had been providing humanitarian service in its 150 year long journey with a global spirit of service.