Bhubaneswar: The Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Saturday passed a resolution to make disaster and pandemic preparedness a part of the curriculum in schools and colleges.
Every student, elected representative, government official, Misson Shakti members and other stakeholders will be trained in disaster as well as pandemic preparedness.
“This is a historic step and will enable and empower our future generations to withstand the vagaries of nature whether it’s biological or climatic. Odisha will stand out in saving peoples’ lives. It flows from our realisation that community preparedness is key to disaster management,” Naveen said at the meeting.
The world has changed its perception about Odisha’s ability to deal with disasters in the course of the last two decades. There was a time when we evoked pity. Today, the Odisha model of disaster management draws global admiration.
“The time has come for us to create a massive knowledge infrastructure in the State that will make everyone a warrior. Today, we are taking a futuristic decision. We will train our people at large on how to deal with known emergencies and how to respond to situations where the outcome cannot be predicted,” read the resolution passed by the panel.
Now, every high school and college student will learn about disaster and pandemic management as part of their curriculum. The government will train every government employee on the fundamental nature of different kinds of disaster and pandemic management. Government jobs and recruitment will have a mandatory syllabus on disaster and pandemic management.
Similarly, all elected public representative starting from ward members to Chief Minister will be trained on disaster and pandemic management.
Besides, members of the Mission Sakti groups, Vana Surakya Samitis, and other community-based organisations will be equipped with the knowledge required to manage disaster and pandemics.
The Council of Ministers has resolved to undertake systematic and detailed training programmes to equip the citizens with adequate knowledge and skills in disaster and pandemic management and make Odisha a leading state in disaster preparedness – whether it’s biological or climatic. The main objective of the resolution is to have a ‘Yodha’ in every home of Odisha.
PNN