Port Blair, Aug. 3: The Andaman & Nicobar Administration in coordination with National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), MHA, GoI, New Delhi organized a training programme on Incident Response System (IRS) for the Incident Response Teams of Districts/Sub-Division/Islands at DBRAIT auditorium here today.

Inaugurating the training programme as the chief guest, the Secretary Disaster Management, Shri ASPS, Raviprakash, IAS, informed that IRS training is organised for the IRTs for better management of disasters. Mentioning that Incident Response System (IRS) is extremely important in the wake of disasters, the Secretary said we should not remain complacent but prepare ourselves to deal with situations arising out of natural calamities to save ourselves, our families and people in the society. One cannot do much post disaster, however, with proper preparedness, damages can be minimised, the Secretary added.

In his address on the occasion, the Director Disaster Management, Shri Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said that A&N Islands are prone to natural calamities and earthquakes. Due to the scattered nature of Islands, at times, it becomes difficult to provide immediate relief post disaster. To overcome the issue, the IRTs have the responsibilities to ensure that they have the basic essential materials to deal with the situation at their respective place of stay. Mentioning that Disaster Management Department has identified 175 relief centres spread over the Islands, the Director urged their IRTs to intimate the Department about their requirement by filling up the Google form by Aug. 15 so that essential items can be purchased and distributed to them at the earliest.

Initiating the training programme, Shri Shekher Chaturvedi from NIDM said the objective of the training on IRS is to pre-designate officers to perform various duties as well as to train them in their respective roles. He also informed about the guidelines issued NDMA on IRS in 2010 providing a road map in implementation of IRS in the Country. If the response is planned and the stakeholders are trained, situations in post disaster can be dealt with better co-ordination and in an effective manner, he added.

IRTs from other two districts also attended the training through video conferencing.