Learning Disaster Management Skills

 

Media is abuzz with the bravery exhibited by our youth during recent flooding in Kashmir. 

Certainly our youth played a commendable role in saving life in the recent devastating flood, 

though many of them were not well skilled in the crisis management operations. 

Alas!

 Some enthusiastic volunteers even lost their precious lives while operating rescue and

 relief works in the flood hit areas. Had these boys been trained by the 

J&K Disaster Management Authority earlier, they might have saved more lives, and 

reached out to more stranded people in time, who were crying for help for many long days?

It is unfortunate that the J&K Disaster Management collapsed at the very first day 

and could not perform at all. 

It is highly appreciable that some active member companies 

of the Adventure Tour Operators Association of Kashmir

 such as Adventure Call, Kashmir Adventures, Highland Excursions O2 Adventures, Mountain Magic, 

and Highland Journeys etc. took the lead. Besides,

 they loaned about 30 imported commercial inflatable rafting boats to district administration in some districts. 

The Tourism Department also put its fleet of rafts to use. 

Later the NDRF and few NGOs also jumped in by rowing their dinghies to the affected areas. 

 These inflatable boats were perfect to tackle the running waters, 

while the traditional wooden boats were not effective in fast flowing water. 

Unfortunately some causality also occurred in those boats. 

Later those wooden boats helped a  ...more