Srinagar: A Two-day virtual workshop on ‘Emergency Operation Management and the Role of Emergency Operations Centre in Emergency Management’ was organised by the World Bank for the capacity building of the J&K ERA and JTFRP which had recently started the execution of work on the construction of a state of art Rs 34.88 crore Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Ompura, Budgam under the World Bank-funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project.
Director Technical, JTFRP, Basharat Ahmad Kawoosa, in his inaugural address said, “The workshop has been organised at an opportune time as the work in J&K-level EOC is in its initial stage and the learning from the workshop can be incorporated in further fine-tuning the design of.”
He said that the workshop would further build the capacities of participants in the sphere of emergency operation management.
Speaking about the objectives of the workshop, disaster management expert, World Bank, Peeyush Ramawatar Sekhsaria said that the World Bank as part of strengthening the technical capacity to respond effectively and timely to an impending crisis under the ongoing disaster recovery projects in J&K and Uttrakhand had funded the establishment of the EOC in J&K and Uttrakhand.
He said that the workshop was being organised for the executing agencies UDRP and JTFRP to help them in the finalisation of good design for their respective EOCs.
Sekhsaria also introduced the resource persons for the workshop disaster management experts Balaji Singh Chawhan, Kishan Sanku, and Faisal Illiyas.
Chawhan in the session on the Concept and Structure of Ideal EOC said, “EOC is a physical location where information and resources are coordinated to manage the emergencies effectively.”
Sanku in his session on the early warning systems, public information management, communication coordination, search and rescue, relief operations, and logistical arrangements briefed participants about the various latest tools of communication like satellite phones, HAM radio, VSAT, Satellite-Based Mobile Data Voice Terminal (SBMDVT), cell broadcasting, and National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM) that are useful in restoring the lines of communication in case of several hard-hitting natural disasters like cyclones, and floods.
Illiyas in his session on the technological solutions to the emergency operations made a technical presentation on the latest tools used in Andhra Pradesh for the effective operation of the EOC which include one-touch video system, WEBEOC, weather warning systems, the unified command for action, data storage and its retrieval for future use, Geographic Information System Lab, integrated operational dashboard, forecasting, and warning systems, and wireless emergency alert broadcast.