The Centre for Disaster Management Studies, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi has a broad mission to ensure mitigation of disasters, risk reduction, Disaster Management through awareness, research and training.
The Centre through its awareness programmes aims to target locals and communities to manage risks. It primarily focuses on how CDMS can empower communities to manage their risks through locally owned and locally appropriate approaches. The idea behind this is that communities are the first responders of a disaster, therefore they should be given the necessary training to mitigate and manage their risks.
Apart from local communities the Centre also plans to have a dedicated training and workshop for students across various departments and faculties. Students are the backbone of our society, tagged as “future” of every society, it is the responsibility of each student to bring about major changes in the lives of the society as a whole through their dedicated efforts. A creative approach could help familiarise them with their surroundings and provide insights into disaster risk reduction and preparedness measures, emergency relief and long-term recovery. Research and training programme is an important pre-condition on improving the technical skills of personnel, to improve operational and team management and to optimize coordination among disaster management actors. Key activities such as compiling contingency plans, allocating resources and developing strong legislation are other important parts of disaster preparedness.
India is the fifth most vulnerable country in terms of climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index report 2020. In recent years, earthquakes, cyclones, floods, landslides and forest fires have become frequent across the country. Given the severe impact of the climate emergency on economic and social development of vulnerable communities, especially the poor, it is important to build resilience.