SRINAGAR, Jul 18: In a significant step towards enhancing the disaster resilience and preparedness, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir conducted a high-level workshop on the Incident Response System (IRS) today.
In his opening remarks, the Chief Secretary underlined the critical importance of building a culture of disaster preparedness among the citizens and institutions. “Disasters often arrive without warning and in every such instance, citizens are the first responders,” he said. “Each capable individual has a moral responsibility to contribute to disaster resilience by being aware, prepared and proactive.”
Highlighting Jammu and Kashmir’s unique geopolitical and environmental vulnerabilities, the Chief Secretary emphasized the UT’s susceptibility to earthquakes, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), landslides, cross-border tensions and climate-induced challenges. “Given our exposure to multiple hazards, our preparedness must be all-encompassing, institutionally sound and technologically enabled,” he stated.
Dulloo stressed that disaster readiness is not measured by paperwork but by the number of lives saved and the responsiveness of the system during crisis. He noted that increasing urbanization and climate change have escalated the intensity and frequency of disasters, placing greater responsibility on governments, institutions and citizens to act decisively.
The Chief Secretary called for customisation of IRS protocols based on local risk profiles at the district and block level. He proposed development of a Disaster Dashboard to map available resources, machinery, manpower and vulnerable zones across the UT.
Later, a comprehensive Handbook on the Incident Response System (IRS) was unveiled, clearly delineating the roles and responsibilities of each officer and department involved in disaster response.
