To equip community volunteers of Punjab’s Moga district with rescue skills during floods, the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA), in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), on Monday started a unique 12-day training programme.
The programme is part of the centrally-sponsored scheme by the NDMA to train the community volunteers across the country. The programme was launched through online portal by MGSIPA director Jaspreet Talwar.NDMA member Rajendra Singh said that the Central Government has undertaken a programme under “Aapda Mitra” — a centrally-sponsored scheme by the NDMA to train 200 volunteers in disaster response in the 30 most flood-prone districts identified across the country. “Under the scheme, standardized training modules have been developed at the national level and institutions will be identified at the State level to impart training to the selected volunteers from the project districts.
The impact of volunteers in disaster response can be tremendous, as the extent of damage — in terms of economic and human loss — is greatly influenced by the initial response to a disaster,” he said in his key-note address.