A state level consultation on Child Centred Emergency Preparedness for Response was held at Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim on Monday.
The inaugural session was presided over by Mayor of Gangtok Municipal Corporation, Shakti Singh Choudhary.
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The programme was organized by Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) in collaboration with UNICEF, NDMA and OXFAM, India and was attended by Lars Bernd, Chief Emergency Officer at UNICEF, Rinzing Chewang , special secretary, LR& DM Department Government of Sikkim, B B Subba, special secretary, Government of Sikkim, Dr Rabin Chettri, Director SCERT HRDD and Dr Vinod Sharma, vice chairman, SSDMA.
The workshop also had the participation of principals of various schools, students, representatives from departments of Government of Sikkim and various agencies.
Mayor GMC Shakti Singh Choudhary, in his inaugural address, highlighted the steps taken by the State Government in tackling any disaster situation in the State. He impressed upon the various projects and programmes initiated by the Government in coordination with various line departments and organizations to reduce the risk of disaster.
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While addressing the session, UNICEF India Chief Lars Bernd said that the concentration on relief and mitigation is of utmost importance. He added that equitable distribution of safe and adequate resources, usages of technologies and ecological restoration is very important to reduce the risk of disaster.
Appreciating the initiatives taken by the State in disaster risk reduction, he stated that more focus needs to be laid on quality and quantity based work.
He also spoke about various aspects of school safety and to build new skills in schools, to empower children inside and outside the schools during disaster and to sensitize them for sustainable development.
Earlier, Dr Vinod Sharma, vice chairman of SSDMA, in his welcome address, congratulated the Department for organizing the workshop in the State of Sikkim and assured to continue such programmes in future which can be helpful to achieve the goal of the Chief Minister to make Sikkim a model state in the area of disaster risk reduction.
The inaugural session concluded with vote of thanks proposed by G C Khanal, Additional Director, LR & DMD, which was followed by the technical session.