2 Day Mock Drill Exercise commences at Kishtwar

Kishtwar  : A two day Mock Drill began Wednesday under the overall supervision of Chairman, District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Ashok Sharma, here at DC office complex.
On the first day of the exercise, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) demonstrated Table Top Exercise (TTEx) which is helpful in staying safe in the wake of an earthquake or landslide. The exercise was conducted with the involvement of Police, UTDRF/ Civil Defense, Armed forces, Red Cross and representatives of NGOs and in presence of Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC), Kishtwar Sham Lal.
Earlier, Assistant Commandant, 13th Battalion, NDRF, Javeed Iqbal gave a detailed PowerPoint presentation on the structure and role of NDRF in India, its abilities, the list of machines used for dealing with all types of natural and man-made disasters, etc. Javeed Iqbal stressed on the need to maintain coordination among the stakeholders during a disaster to reduce response time for rescue measures as District Kishtwar is located under level IV and V earthquake seismic zones.
Heads of different stakeholder departments responded to the queries during the meeting.
A mock exercise would be conducted tomorrow at the DC office Complex at 11:00 AM by the NDRF team to sensitise stakeholders about the rescue preparedness at the time of an earthquake.
Deliberations were also held on the utility of satellite phone, helipads, medial infrastructure and response team, hygiene and sanitation, drinking water supply, role of media, awareness and training to effectively tackle the unprecedented disaster in the district.
Among others present were Accounts Officer DC office Kishtwar Imran Ahmed Kichloo, ASI UTDRF, Secretary Red Cross Kishtwar Asgar Sheikh besides others.