At least 5000 students of the state capital were today imparted training by the National Disaster Management Response Force (NDRF) on how to protect themselves and help others in the event of calamities like earthquakes and incidents of fire. Students of 10 schools in the state capital participated in the training session, part of the Chief Minister's school safety programme, at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Fire Services personnel also participated in the training session. Students were trained in pre-hospital treatment techniques which included controlling the oozing of blood and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), a statement said. The NDRF instructors also trained them in 'Duck’, ‘Cover’ and ‘Hold’ drills. During the programme, an exhibition of various search and rescue equipment, communication equipment and improvised rafts were also organised for generating awareness among students.
An instructor team of 9 Battalion NDRF, under overall supervision of Commandant Vijay Sinha, also participated in the programme. The Commandant said that the prevention of disaster begins with awareness. School students and teachers can serve as messengers to build a culture of safety and disaster risk reduction in schools as well as outreaching to the community. Until now, about 1.10 lakh students and 11,000 teachers/staff of government and private schools have been trained in school safety measures by the 9th NDRF Battalion in Bihar, according to the statement.
As a community capacity building initiative, about 6 lakh local people, including civil volunteers have also been trained in various disaster management issues through community awareness programmes organized by NDRF teams in Bihar, it added. The programme was inaugurated by state Minister of Disaster Management Chandrashekhar.