NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena launched the training programme “Aapda Mitra” in Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU) on Tuesday. He said that the people undergoing the programme will be trained to provide the first response in case of calamity.
Speaking at the launch of the training programme, he said the role these volunteers will play during a potential disaster is very important as they would be the first responders. “We are putting a firm foot forward in preventing and mitigating the impact of disasters, including earthquakes.
As decided in the recent DDMA meeting, these trained volunteers will provide the first response in case of calamity,” he said. The university will conduct this training programme in a phased manner. At first, training programme for 100 such volunteers has been started.
Their role is not confined to only disasters but they are expected to respond to incidents like road accidents, snatching, eve-teasing etc, the L-G said. According to the Minutes of Meeting, enrolling and training Disaster Relief Volunteers had been rolled out in Delhi and 1,800 volunteers had been trained and enrolled till now.
Besides, the L-G also directed the officials to start retrofitting schools, hospitals, police stations, other critical government offices and vulnerable buildings especially in the ‘Special Area’ and old Delhi
localities, according to the Earthquake Resilient Building Code. The officials were also asked to identify open spaces across the city for rescue operations in the event of an earthquake.