Pak, Cambodia to join Peer group on disaster management

Hyderabad, Apr 26 (UNI) Earthquake-prone Pakistan and Cambodia will shortly join the USD 7.5 million US-funded Programme for Enhancement of Emergency Response headed by India, Peer Group Head Vinod Sharma said today.

''Pakistan is likely to join the peer group comprising India, Nepal, Bangaldesh, Indonesia and Phillippines in a month or two and Cambodia later'', he said in his address at the three-day peer regional networking conference of member countries at the premier National Industrial Security Academy here.

As and when Pakistan joined the group, formed to improve efficiency and effectiveness of emergency response mechanism, the USA would provide an additional USD one million, he informed.

Central Industrial Security Force Additional Director General C B Satpathy, in his inaugural address, stressed the need for cooperation before and after disasters, cutting across international boundaries, as disasters would strike across borders.

The Himalayan debris was yet to settle and ramifications of the unsettled Himalayan plate, would be witnessed for millions of years in the region, he observed and underscored the need for networking of the member countries.

The CISF now possessed the largest resource pool in the country with 60 instructors and over 1000 responders, he added.

UNI SM KVV RP BST1609