Every Disaster A Lesson To Learn From: CS

In a significant step towards enhancing disaster resilience and preparedness, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir conducted a high-level workshop on the Incident Response System (IRS) Friday.

- Observer News Service

The workshop was attended by Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, Principal Secretary Home and DMRR&R, Chandraker Bharti, senior Administrative Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners, Heads of Departments and National Disaster Management experts including Brigadier Kuldip Singh (Retd), Former Senior Consultant, Ministry of Home Affairs.

In his opening remarks, the Chief Secretary underlined the critical importance of building a culture of disaster preparedness among the citizens and institutions. “Disasters often arrive without warning and in every such instance, citizens are the first responders,” he said. “Each capable individual has a moral responsibility to contribute to disaster resilience by being aware, prepared and proactive.”

Highlighting Jammu and Kashmir's unique geopolitical and environmental vulnerabilities, the Chief Secretary emphasized the UT's susceptibility to earthquakes, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), landslides, cross-border tensions and climate-induced challenges. “Given our exposure to multiple hazards, our preparedness must be all-encompassing, institutionally sound and technologically enabled,” he stated.