The Delhi government and the National Disaster Management Authority are collaborating to launch a citywide School Safety Campaign on November 25 to enhance disaster preparedness in schools.
According to an official, the effort intends to improve schools' ability to deal with critical scenarios such as earthquakes, fires, excessive heat, and crowd-related problems.
The official told PTI the campaign is part of the NDMA's "School Contact Programme," which was launched after the authority hired a commercial contractor in October to help with execution.
He noted that the programme will include 2,082 schools in the capital by mid-January next year, as discussed at a meeting on November 3.
The inaugural event will take place on November 25 at Springdales School on Pusa Road, Delhi, and the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister have both been invited.
"It will be implemented through a structured two-day module in government and private schools across selected districts, culminating in school disaster management plans, awareness sessions and full-scale mock drills," the officer told PTI.
The NDMA will visit around 70 schools every day for 35 to 40 working days as part of the programme.
Activities would include a disaster awareness module with a short video, interactive talks, preparation mapping through the formation of School Disaster Management Committees, an evacuation exercise, and an earthquake simulation drill in accordance with NDMA norms, he explained.
The deputy directors of education in each district have been ordered to communicate with Delhi Disaster Management Authority officials to ensure the campaign runs smoothly, he added.
Schools have been instructed to submit activity reports with images to their respective zonal offices, and the completed reports must be forwarded to the education department by January 20, he said.
