Srinagar: Renowned experts and academics Thursday raised a strong pitch for establishing a ‘Centre of Excellence in Natural Hazard Mitigation’ at the University of Kashmir (KU) in view of its vast importance for Jammu and Kashmir, which is vulnerable to natural disasters.
A statement of KU issued here said that in the wake of successful culmination of a three-day national symposium on ‘Earthquake, Landslide and Glacial Hazards’, which was attended by globally-acclaimed scientists at KU recently, eminent experts and academics held detailed deliberations during a special meeting chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof Nilofer Khan.
The statement said that the meeting endorsed the idea to have a ‘Centre of Excellence in Natural Hazard Mitigation’ established at KU with the VC assuring full support from the varsity including necessary interventions at different levels to realise the goal.
It said that Padma Shri Prof Harsh K Gupta, Prof B K Rastogi, Prof O P Mishra, Prof M Sultan Bhat, Registrar Nisar Ahmad Mir, and Head, Department of Geography and Disaster Management Prof Pervez Ahmed attended the meeting.
The statement said that the members unanimously agreed that given the region’s vulnerability to different natural hazards like earthquakes, floods, landslides, avalanches and GLOFS, a specialised centre focussing on understanding and mitigating the adverse impacts of these hazards was the need of the hour for KU.
It said that the ‘Centre of Excellence in Natural Hazard Mitigation’ was proposed by the committee to promote sharing of knowledge, expertise, and services in the field of disaster management.
The statement said that it was also emphasised that given the expertise available at KU, especially in the Department of Geography and Disaster Management, the proposed centre would become a pioneering institution for pursuing advanced research in the areas of natural hazards mitigation, disaster risk reduction, climate crises, sustainability, and environmental change.
It quoted the members as saying that establishment of the proposed centre would make a huge difference at the ground level in mitigation practices, research, education and awareness, and that the centre would also help enhance capacities for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) at various levels.
The statement quoted the members as saying that such a centre would go a long way in tackling the disaster impacts in the region and play a great role in creating mass awareness and culture of disaster resilience among the people living in the northern part of the country in general and Kashmir Himalayan region in particular.
“The members said that the research and development activities at the centre would help in development of disaster mitigation strategies and creation of new knowledge base with global impacts,” the statement said.
It said that the CoE would play a pivotal role in guiding the planners and policymakers in effectively pursuing the objectives of the global DRR and sustainability initiatives such as Sendai Framework for Action and Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030).
The statement said that the recent symposium was organised jointly by the Indian Society of Earthquake Sciences (ISES) and the Department of Geography and Disaster Management, University of Kashmir.