Dehradun: In a 1st for the Himalayan state, all govt and private schools in Uttarakhand will prepare a school-specific disaster management plan based on their local geography and hazard profile, as part of a state-wide initiative to strengthen preparedness and response.
Under the plan, schools will have to evaluate their vulnerability to regional hazards, including earthquakes, landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, and avalanches. Each plan must clearly map out evacuation routes and safe assembly zones, alongside structural safety audits of classrooms, laboratories, and kitchen gas supplies.
The decision was taken at a meeting of Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and education department, chaired by secretary, disaster management and rehabilitation, Vinod Kumar Suman. Director General (DG) education Akanksha Konde was also present in the meeting.
Several states, including neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir, also require schools to maintain local disaster response plans under national safety guidelines.
Each school will form six emergency teams for evacuation, first aid, fire safety, search and rescue, warnings and information, and assistance. Students and staff will receive safety training and schools will conduct regular mock drills.
“The plans will also assign specific responsibilities to principals, teachers, non-teaching staff and, where required, students during an emergency,” Suman said. He added that schools will have to display emergency contact numbers for police, fire services, health authorities, disaster management authorities and the local administration.
Schools will also be required to keep rescue equipment on site and make special arrangements for students with disabilities and other special needs. They will have to set up systems to contact parents during emergencies and work with local administrations, gram panchayats and communities on disaster preparedness.
A committee of officials from the education department and USDMA will oversee the initiative, officials said.
The policy push in Uttarakhand comes amid growing concern over rapid, cascading disasters across the wider Himalayan belt. Last month, a flash flood in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, believed to have been caused by an ice and rock avalanche, left over 1,300 people dead and about 5,000 missing, according to the country’s foreign ministry.
