Red Cross must educate people to mitigate losses in disasters: Paul

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 23

Governor and ex-officio chairman of Uttarakhand Red Cross Society KKPaul today said the priorities of Red Cross should be to make people aware so that the damage due to natural calamities like earthquakes and landslides in the state could be mitigated and minimised. He was chairing a meeting of the Uttarakhand Red Cross held here today.

The Governor said the Red Cross would have to focus on its orientation in order to protect its basic principles of humanity, impartiality, voluntary service, freedom and unity. Due to this coordination, people would be able to get immediate relief in case of a calamity and all available resources could be used the maximum.

He sought suggestions from the representatives of Red Cross from various districts to make the organisation more effective. On getting several suggestions, the Governor said the presence of representatives and volunteers from all districts and even remote areas proved that Red Cross was active in the state and this was a good sign for the welfare of the public.

The Governor appreciated the suggestion that children linked with Red Cross who showed excellence should be given certificates like the ones given by NCC and NSS. This could be done after finding out the system followed by the Centre and other states in the context of Red Cross. He accepted the suggestion that students in degree colleges and inter colleges should be linked to Youth Red Cross. He said universities would have to be activated in this context. Youth Red Cross will have to upgrade its training.

The Governor asked the CMO to prepare a proposal to utilise the Red Cross building in Chamba (Tehri). Secretary (Social Welfare) gave the suggestion that Red Cross should help in fighting social evils and encouraging girls .Secretary (School Education) suggested that special training to fight calamities should be given by the Red Cross in areas which had decadent school buildings.

The meeting also discussed several other important issues .The Governor also spoke about the importance of Red Cross in Ardh Kumbh. He said adequate number of ambulances were required to help road accident victims. He said the four districts which did not have blood banks should establish proper links with blood banks working in neighboring districts. The Governor said it was extremely important to set up a trauma centre in the state. Regarding this, the Principal Secretary (Health) said a plan for setting up trauma centres in Dehradun and Haldwani had been prepared. He gave the information that the services of one hundred doctors chosen for the Dehradun Medical College (under construction) could be benefited from till the time the college began functioning. The Governor responded by saying that this was a good opportunity for the Red Cross as they could take these doctors to remote areas and organise health / medical camps there. These camps should also focus on making people aware of how they could prevent diseases. He said the meetings should be held regularly in all the districts to highlight the importance of Red Cross and ensure coordination among all the trained volunteers of Red Cross, voluntary organisations and local administration.

The Governor gave Rs1.5 lakh from his discretionary fund to the Red Cross Society.