DISASTER SAFETY MOCK DRILL AT OLD AGE HOME

DISASTER SAFETY MOCK DRILL AT OLD AGE HOME

27-SEP-ENG 13

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-----------------------A one-day capacity building and mock drill program was organized by the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSMA) at the Sahara Old Age Home in Gulzarbagh, Patna, today, September 25, to protect the elderly in the event of various disasters. This program is part of the Authority's Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Campaign, conducted under the guidance of Authority Vice President Dr. Uday Kant, and members P.N. Rai, Kaushal Kishore Mishra, E. Narendra Kumar Singh, and Prakash Kumar. Under this program, the Authority works with vulnerable and disadvantaged sections of society, including children, disabled individuals, transgender individuals, and the elderly.

Under the leadership of Sub-Inspector Ajay Kumar Patel, trained instructors from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) trained the destitute elderly at the old age home. Nearly two dozen employees of the old age home, which operates under the Social Welfare Department, also participated in the training. All of them are associated with the voluntary organization HelpAge India. Deepak Kumar Sen, superintendent of the old age home, said that 40 physically and mentally healthy and capable elderly people living there participated in the mock drill. They were given information on safety measures against earthquakes, fires, cold waves and heat waves, etc. This will prove very useful for them. Sandeep Kamal, Alok Ranjan, Bhavana Singh, Shravan Kumar and Vikas Kumar were present on behalf of the authority on this occasion.