Tripura to launch disaster management project in schools

Agartala, April 23 (IANS) Tripura will launch a disaster management programme in its schools to enhance the state's preparedness in an event of a natural calamity striking it, an official said here Monday.

"The government has launched an ambitious School Disaster Management Planning (SDMP) project from this academic session. Under it, teachers and students will be trained to deal with any natural disaster, including earthquake," state education department joint director Dilip Debbarma told IANS.

"The project will cover all the 4,465 schools across the mountainous state," he added.

According to Debbarma, the first phase of the disaster management training project will cover the teachers and subsequently it will be extended to the students.

The education department has sanctioned a fund of Rs.250,000 for this academic session to launch the programme in all schools up to Class 12.

Debbarma said that the district magistrates, sub-divisional magistrates and district education officials will supervise the project in areas under their jurisdiction.

Education ministers of eight northeastern states last year submitted an eight-point resolution to the union human resource development ministry, highlighting the vulnerability of a large number of schools in the region in case of a natural disaster hitting the region.

"Thousands of school buildings, constructed more than 50 to 100 years ago, are not safe to sustain high seismic tremors," said an education department official.

The Geological Survey of India had earlier notified that the northeastern region could experience a devastating earthquake as it falls in the sixth highest earthquake prone regions of the world.