Earthquake preparedness Training starts

A four-day training on rapid visual screening for civil engineers, architects and geologists was today launched by Building & Housing secretary MB Gurung in the presence of Land Revenue and Disaster Management Department secretary-cum-relief commissioner CT Wangdi. The training has been organised by the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority and the LR & DM in coordination with the CSIR-NEIST of Jorhat, Assam and is sponsored by the National Disaster Management Authority.
Three resource persons will impart training on issues such as structural and non-structural earthquake risk mitigation, earthquake hazard and risk mitigation, behaviour of buildings during earthquakes and earthquake resistant construction of buildings, among others. The experts are CSIR-NEIST chief scientist R Duarah,
Gurgaon-based TARU Leading Edge consultant Shashank Mishra and NIT (Hamirpur) assistant professor Dr. Hemant Kumar Vinayak.
Gurung urged engineers and geologists of the state to take maximum benefit of the training and implement the knowledge gained for the safety of people during construction works. He directed the trainees to go through the guidelines of structural design during construction and remain very particular on quality of both work and material. The secretary also requested the LR&DM secretary to modernise the State Disaster Management Cell. (IPR)