Disaster Risk Reduction: speakers call for setting up emergency rescue service in Sindh

Speakers at the conference have called for establishing emergency rescue service 1122 in Sindh like other provinces in order to help people and provide them quick relief in case of catastrophe, natural upheaval and mayhem. They said that the institutions like Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Sindh had an important role in containing losses and providing immediate relief to the people in case of natural calamity.
This they said while addressing the 3-day National Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) on the second consecutive day held at Shaikh Ayaz Auditorium, Arts Faculty Building, University of Sindh, Jamshoro on Wednesday. The conference is organized by the SU's Department of Social Work in collaboration with PDMA Sindh, Community Work Service Asia and Fast Rural Development Program.
Addressing the conference, the chairman of Fast Rural Development Program (FRDP) Muhammad Achar Bozdar said that the emergency rescue service 1122 had saved more than 150,000 lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during different emergencies and disasters adding that the same service was needed in the Sindh province for which he said the provincial disaster management authority will have to put in efforts.
He talked about the importance of training and awareness campaign to be launched in a bid to equip people with skills that could help them save not only their own lives but also those of their loved ones in times of disasters and emergencies. He said public must take part in first-aid training needed during times of medical emergencies, firefighting and rescue in case of destruction of a building during a disaster.
Addressing the conference, SU professor Dr. Aslam Parvez Memon said that people should get rescue trainings so that they might be prepared to handle any emergency and save lives of the people. He said there was strong need for resuming emergency service 1122 like the one in other provinces so that the life and property of people might be saved during natural calamities adding that through the 1122 service, the people could be provided the best possible help and quick emergency support and rescue services.
"This would be a huge public service for the province which has been affected by many disasters in the past including super floods in 2010, he said. The Director of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Muhammad Ali Shaikh said that they wanted such organizations to become fully functional and stand ready to safeguard human lives.
He said that the rescue staff must be sent for national & international trainings which will help them stand on their feet and would enable them to protect and rescue people in natural disasters. Another speaker Waheed Javed Khaskheli said that disaster management plan should be implemented strictly in order to cope with natural disasters in the days to come. He hoped that PDMA Sindh would soon establish emergency rescue service 1122 so as to provide immediate relief to the people in case of any disaster and emergency. "PDMA should also prepare comprehensive recommendations for the rehabilitation of people, farmers and cattle breeders who are being affected by drought in Thar and other catastrophes taking place in various parts of Sindh," he maintained.