Assam: JICA team visits ASDMA to work on disaster risk reduction

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: A six-member team from Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA), led by Dr. Kuwano Takeshi, visited the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) today in connection with the “country-focused training programme on enhancing disaster risk reduction and resilience building capacities of north-eastern states of India.” This training programme is under implementation for building the capacities of SDMAs in the north-eastern states of India as part of the official developmental assistance of the Government of Japan based on bilateral cooperation with India. The programme is a joint collaboration with the Centre for Disaster Management and Research (CDMR), IIT, Guwahati (IITG), and JICA. The team will visit a few flood, erosion, and landslide-affected areas in Barpeta, Kamrup, and Kamrup Metro districts to understand the risks and vulnerabilities of these areas with the objective of potential project development for mitigation and prevention measures to reduce disaster risks in the region. Dr. Ravi Kota, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Assam, graced this discussion in the presence of Gyanendra Dev Tripathi, IAS, Chief Executive Officer, ASDMA, Prof. Sudip Mitra, IIT Guwahati, Sathya Kumar, Senior Consultant, NDMA, Alakananda Medhi, ACS, State Project Coordinator, ASDMA, and other senior officials of ASDMA.

Dr. Kota, in his speech, highlighted the hazards and risks the state is prone to and the measures taken by government agencies and the community. He also stressed the need for sustainable solutions to the recurrent natural calamities in the state as well as earthquake vulnerability solutions.

Tripathi, in his welcome address, emphasised the primary aspects of this collaboration, like training and education on disasters, imparting awareness, innovation, and research, which would enhance the opportunities of the professionals of ASDMA.

Prof. Sudip Mitra from IITG shared an overview of how this collaborative training and capacity-building programme on disaster risk reduction in the north-eastern states evolved over the last 2 years and the technical training that would be imparted to concerned stakeholders of these states to build expertise with the help of IITG and the expert consultants appointed by the JICA. The discussion was continued with presentations from ASDMA on the learning of the participants who recently participated in a 2-week-long training programme conducted in Japan, which was attended by 2 officials from ASDMA and also various other SDMAs of the north-eastern region. The ASDMA team also shared the plan and follow-up actions for the training to be imparted in the years 2025 and 2026. The JICA team from Japan comprised Araki Motoyo, an earthquake specialist; Yuasa Takashi, a flood specialist; Akiguchi Miho, a training management specialist; Kato Tomohiro, a human resource development specialist; and Sasaki Yuka. This team of Japanese experts earlier visited IIT Guwahati and met the director and IIT Guwahati team.

Also Read: Over 3.20 lakh affected by flood fury in Northeast: ASDMA (sentinelassam.com)

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