Meghalaya State Disaster Management Authority conducts mock quake drill

The mock exercise is a simulation of the 1897 earthquake and will see the participation of district officials, armed forces, paramilitary forces, NDRF, SDRF, police, fire and emergency services, hospitals, schools, colleges, NGOs, community members, volunteers from various organisations such as Bharat Scouts and Guides, Indian Red Cross Society, NSS, Aapda Mitra and others agencies.

Members of the National Disaster Management Authority attended in overseeing the conduct of mock exercises by state and district-level officials and other agencies.

Following the completion of the Mock Exercise, a Debriefing session was held at the State Convention Centre wherein Chief Secretary DP Wahlang attended as the Chief Guest.

In his address, D P Wahlang congratulated all the stakeholders for the successful conduct of the mock exercise and informed them that after a gap of 9 years, Meghalaya was able to conduct a large-scale Mock Exercise, he called upon the MSDMA to conduct such an exercise on a regular interval emphasizing more on localized mock drills, also by involving schools and colleges so as to be fully prepared when any eventualities occur.

Recalling the number of disasters happening around the world at regular intervals, which leads to significant loss of precious lives, he urged all the stakeholders to be ready and use the knowledge gained through the mock exercise to the best of their abilities, should any disaster take place.

The Chief Secretary also stressed the up-gradation of the communication services that the Disaster Management Authority presently have in order to bridge the communication limitations and to create a more robust system that will further boost the services of the Disaster Management Authority.

During the Debriefing Session observations, views, opinions and suggestions were also shared by all the Deputy Commissioners and District observers of the mock exercise.

The debriefing session was also attended by Sanjay Goyal, Commissioner and Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Major Gen Sudhir Bahl (Retd.), Senior Consultant (ME & IRS), NDMA, I W Ingty and M War Nongbri, Secretaries, Revenue and Disaster Management Department among others. (ANI)