News

Training on Emergency Response and Contingency Planning Held in Kirtipur

Kirtipur, 22nd January 2020 - DPNet-Nepal and Kirtipur Municipality jointly organized a two-day training on emergency response and contingency planning in Kirtipur on 21st and 22nd January 2020. The training saw the participation of 27 individuals, including ward chairpersons, local disaster management committee members, and stakeholders, with 14 female participants, 2 Dalit participants, and 17 Janajati participants. The opening session of the training was attended by the Chairperson of DPNet-Nepal, the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, and the Coordinator of the local disaster management committee of Kirtipur Municipality.

Mr. Ganga Ram Maharjan, Coordinator of the local disaster management committee of Kirtipur Municipality, expressed the municipality's commitment to disaster risk reduction and management programs and welcomed all participants. Mr. Surya Bahadur Thapa, Chairperson of DPNet-Nepal, emphasized the importance of disaster preparedness in reducing losses and highlighted the need for capacity-building programs at the local level. Ms. Saraswati Rijal Khadka, Deputy Mayor of Kirtipur Municipality, shared that 1 percent of the program fund is allocated to disaster management funds and stressed the need for ongoing preparedness even after a disaster has occurred. Mr. Ramesh Maharjan, Mayor of Kirtipur Municipality, emphasized the importance of continuous preparedness and the identification of hazards. He also mentioned that the training has established an institutional collaboration with DPNet-Nepal. As part of an environmentally friendly approach, the training adopted the use of electronic banners instead of flex banners and encouraged the use of paper cups instead of plastic cups.

The technical session of the training included presentations and sessions on emergency response and contingency planning. Mr. Surya Bahadur Thapa shared the "Learnings of Gorkha Earthquake," while Mr. Raju Thapa facilitated a session on "DRR terminology." Mr. Anil Maharjan, Program Manager of Nepal Red Cross Society, presented the "Introduction of emergency response and contingency planning." The session on legal provisions of emergency response and contingency planning was facilitated by Mr. Bishnu Timalsina, General Secretary of DiMaNN.

Ms. Luna Khadka, Program Coordinator of DPNet-Nepal, facilitated sessions on "Hazard and Resource mapping," "Sharing of Disaster scenario based on hazard ranking," "Steps and format of contingency planning," "Group work on developing the emergency response and contingency plan," and shared a sample contingency plan. She also moderated the overall training program. During the training, participants identified major hazards and developed a draft contingency plan based on three major hazards: fire, earthquake, and road accidents. Participants were also made aware of environmental concerns during emergencies and were encouraged to consider environmental impacts when drafting the contingency plan.

Two participants, one male, and one female, shared their learning and observations from the training. The program concluded with remarks from the Mayor of Kirtipur Municipality, who requested the local disaster management committee coordinator to follow up on the training and expressed gratitude to DPNet-Nepal for the collaboration.