AGARTALA, Aug 2 (TIWN): The state government is contemplating to introduce a need-based training on disaster management and steps to enhance community resilience to climate change for all line departments and academic institutions, official sources said. A highly placed source in the State Disaster Management Authority today said that a consultation on Training Needs Assessment (TNA), a subsidiary feature of a joint project of the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was held at the civil secretariat on Friday.

The meeting converged all line departments, training and academic institutions of the state, district administrations, central government agencies, NGOs and corporate sectors to assess the functional potential of the existing training programmes on disaster management by various institutions. The consultation resolved to include Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change subjects in different trainings and ensure effective training programmes, the source said. It added that all training institution would henceforth include disaster management in all training programmes.

All departments, nodal officers, training institutions, academic institutions should have concrete course modules, manuals and reference materials on disaster management, the State Disaster Management Authority decided. A separate source in the Revenue Department said later this morning that the Revenue Department was commissioned to develop an online databank of trained personnel, master trainers, training institutions which would be linked with the CTI, SIPARD, PRTI, district administrations to ensure that the trained personnel could be used for further training.

The state government further decided to constitute a TNA Committee under the chairmanship of Director of SIPARD and a four member TNA Team taking experts from NIDM, UNDP, SIPARD and the Revenue Department, the source said. Tripura is prone to various natural disasters, particular to Earthquake. The State is situated in the most vulnerable earthquake prone Zone-V of India.

Having regard to the fact of multi disaster prone, the Revenue Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UNDP and Government of India in June, 2003 to implement the GOI-UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme in the state.