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“10 trained persons in a village can save 100 lives during disasters”

— Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy

ENROLLING VOLUNTEERS: Director of Health and Secretary of IRCS Dilip Kumar Baliga addressing the gathering in Puducherry on Thursday.

PUDUCHERRY: Exhorting the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), Puducherry branch to train villagers in disaster management, Director of Health and Secretary of IRCS Dilip Kumar Baliga said on Thursday that at least 10 persons in each coastal village should be trained to help people in the face of disasters.

Participating in the World Red Cross Day celebrations, organised by the IRCS, Puducherry branch, he said one lakh persons out of the 10 lakh population of Puducherry should be trained in disaster management. “If 10 persons in each village are trained, then 100 lives could be saved during disasters. IRCS could take measures to train such persons in a target of five years,” he said.

He encouraged the society to come up with more programmes and enrol more volunteers.

This year, the society should draw volunteers from colleges and industries, apart from members from the health profession, he added.

Medical Superintendent of Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute (IGGGH and PGI) V. Govindaraj said the need of the hour was awareness of disaster management.

“A few years ago, there was a fear about donating blood. But today with increase in awareness, blood donation has also increased. We have held four to five camps in the last five days. Similarly, efforts to increase awareness of managing disasters should increase,” he said.

He suggested conduct of camps to spread awareness of disaster management. “With climatic changes, disaster management programmes are the need of the hour. Workshops, conferences and meetings should be held to inform on how to save people during disasters. We should focus on orientation, awareness and programmes,” he pointed out.

The World Red Cross Day was being celebrated on the theme of “Working together to combat climate change,” Chairman of IRCS, Puducherry H. Ranganath said, adding, “There were 414 natural disasters in 2007. Disaster preparedness for Asia is very important. Focus should be on public health, preparedness and emergency response.”

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