SMVDSB successfully conducts mock drill exercises to take stock of Disaster Preparedness

KATRA: Disaster Management has been one of the priority areas of the Board in view of difficult terrain and topography of the Shrine area. In a bid to enhance preparedness for disaster management, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board conducts trainings and joint mock drill exercises from time to time with stakeholders to check the alertness and response mechanism in the event of any disaster like eventuality to ensure quick and most effective response from all concerned.

Accordingly, under the overall guidance of Hon’ble Chairman, SMVDSB (Hon’ble Lt. Governor, JK-UT), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has conducted five-day mock drill exercises in priority sectors of Shrine Board including Bhawan, Bhairon, Sanjichhat, Adhkuwari and Banganga which started from April 24 and concluded successfully today with debriefing session with the stakeholders to plug any gaps and enhance preparedness for disaster management.

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These included security agencies like CRPF, Jammu & Kashmir Police, Department of Fire & Emergency Services, State Disaster Response Force, Reasi and a team from NDRF who joined the mock exercises yesterday to assess the overall level of preparedness for effectively and promptly responding to any emergency situation. Besides, the NDRF also displayed various search and rescue equipment and conducted table talk sessions regarding the dos and don’ts during disasters.

The mock drills were conducted with the objective to sensitize stakeholders with regard to potential natural and manmade hazards like landslides, earthquakes, forest fires, electric fires and structure collapse in the Shrine area and giving them hands on exposure to mitigation measures, crowd control, basic of search and rescue, operation and maintenance of fire fighting vehicles besides, a comprehensive inventory audit of the Disaster Management Stores set up by the Shrine Board at various locations on the track. About 295 participants attended these mock drill exercises during a five days programme which concluded today.

While extending gratitude to the specialized agencies who imparted their expertise to the participants during these mock drill exercises, Anshul Garg, Chief Executive Officer, SMVDSB said that such mock drills shall enhance coordination among various agencies and wings of the shrine board to tackle any emergency, especially recurrent forest fires, shooting stones and landslides which are the main challenges in and around the shrine area, besides the situation of crowd management which may occur during peak days. He called for synergised efforts to strengthen the communication system on the track and carry out continuous improvement in human resource strengthening by means of training and mock drills. He also exhorted that the “techniques demonstrated by the NDRF during the course of mock drills will definitely be helpful for the participants to avert any eventuality.

The mock-drill exercise concluded with a debriefing session held at Bhawan. At the session, the Officer-in-Charge NDRF highlighted the practices being observed during these mock drills and also shared suggestions and feedback for improvements needed to ensure effective response during disaster in future with minimum loss of time and resources.