HYDERABAD: Hyderabad being one of the most important cities in the country and an industrial hub at that, it’s prone to man-made disasters including terror attacks. As such, recognising the need to create awareness on disaster management, the State government is mulling a proposal to include the same as a compulsory subject in all private and government schools and colleges from the next academic year.Addressing a two-day national conference on biological disaster management, organised jointly by the National Disaster Management Authority (NMDA) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here on Monday, N Raghu Veera Reddy, Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, said, “Hyderabad is one of the important cities in south India and because of its industrial growth, it is prone to man-made disasters. That is why there’s definitely a need to create awareness about disaster management.” He revealed that the chief minister and he had thought about including and making disaster management a compulsory subject for students from Class VIII to Class XI in all private and government schools and colleges from the next academic year. By disaster management, the minister meant chapters on biological, chemical and nuclear disaster management. He expressed the hope that the move will go a long way in enhancing awareness about bioterrorism and bio-defence mechanisms.Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who inaugurated the conference, felt that Hyderabad was an apt choice for holding the conference as the state is known for biotech and pharmaceuticals industries. He pointed out that biological disaster may occur due to the outbreak of infectious diseases like Japanese encephalitis, Congo Crimean hemorrhagic fever, dengue fever & Chikunguniya, etc. and hence the state must be fully prepared with biodefence mechanisms. He promised comprehensive support towards implementing the guidelines of the NDMA.Director of the Defence Research and Development Establishment, Prof. MP Kaushik said there was a great possibility of biological agents falling in the hands of terrorists, because biological agents are cheap, easy to produce and a very small amount is required to play havoc. “Biological agents can be disseminated as an aerosol, fire extinguisher can be used for this purpose. Anthrax can be disseminated through Heating, Ventilation & Air conditioning (HVAC) system where air handling unit can be exposed to the anthrax powder. In addition to that, biological disaster may occur due to outbreaks of infectious diseases,” he explained and said the DRDE has developed state-of-the-art detection and protection technologies against hazardous materials and micro-organisms.Vice-Chairman of NDMA M Shashidhar Reddy urged the chief minister to consider a proposal for appointing a full time Vice-Chairperson for the State Disaster Management Authority to enhance effectiveness of its functioning. Bringing out facts from a recent WHO study which said that if 50 kilo bacterial agent was dispersed on a 5 lakh population, it would result in the death of 95,000 and incapacitates 1.25 lakh people, he said that implementation of NMDA guidelines was of utmost importance. He also brought out the issue of lack of Isolation Wards in private hospitals which would be needed in times of a biological disaster.The conference is aimed at developing preventive measures, best management practices and developing technology for biological disaster management.
Comments
0 comment