'Communication is backbone of any disaster relief effort': Syed Ata Hasnain

GUWAHATI: Unless there is effective form of communication, it is not possible to create resilience in the community. Communication is important to convey timely warning to the people, to be able to alleviate the suffering in a disaster, said Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member, National Disaster Management Agency, in a Webinar organized by Press Information Bureau, Guwahati on Thursday. The topic of the Webinar was "Disaster Management and Crisis Communication". Gracing the Webinar as the chief guest, Lt Gen (retd) Hasnain said that effective form of communication is required during time of crisis. Government must be well prepared to give advance warning of any disaster so that its impact can be minimized, he said.

Laying emphasis on the need of rapid communication in times of disaster, Lt Gen (retd) Hasnain further added that Communication is known as the backbone of any response or relief effort. He also highlighted the measures to be taken for disaster risk reduction.

Lt Gen (retd) Hasnain appreciated the effort of Press information Bureau, Guwahati for organizing the webinar on such an important topic which is particularly significant in these times.

Press Information Bureau is always there to cater to the requirement of the State Government, said L.R. Vishwanath, Head of Department, North East Zone, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting while giving his opening remarks at the Webinar. PIB works to bring in absolute backward and forward linkages between the State and the Central Government and always tries to bridge the gaps in the narrative of the government work in the Centre and States.

Joya Chakravarty, Head of Department, Department of Mass Communication, Tezpur University took a session on "How to Communicate and Reach out to the People during the Time of Srisis". She spoke extensively on effective crisis management and said effective communication and coordination is important for controlling disaster.

Dr. C. Lalmuansangkimi, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Aizawl spoke on "Effective Communication Strategy during the Crisis Times". She spoke about crisis preparedness and tools of effective communication.

Meghna Choudhury, Information Officer, Government of Assam spoke on "Role of Government Information System during the Crisis Situations". She informed how the Assam government is dealing with the current crisis situation owing to the floods. (PIB)

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