By Radhika Nagrath
Haridwar, 14 Apr: A two day long international workshop organised in the University of Patanjali on Climate Change, Disaster Management and Disaster Medicine concluded on a positive note with many firsts attached to it. Professor Ruben of Spain University; Prof Roberto Mugavero, Chairman, Disaster Medicine Group of World Bank, from Italy; Prof B Sitaula of Norway University; and scientist of Nepal Disaster Management Centre Prof B Adhikari were amongst the various dignitaries who participated in the workshop.
For the first time an International Centre of Excellence on ‘Disaster Medicine, Management and Climate Change’ has been established at the University of Patanjali. Along with this, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Patent Cell has also been formed.
It was decided at the conference that Disaster Medicine and Management will be included in the course curriculum of UOP, and an International Centre of Excellence and IPR Patent Cell would be established. The World Bank announced fellowship and scholarship for Patanjali students. CBRI scientists shared technical inputs and challenges of conducting Surya Tilak of Ram Lalla. Internationally renowned scientists from four countries participated.
A cultural evening was held with musical and dance performances by students of UOP.
Addressing the gathering in the University auditorium, Chancellor, Patanjali University, Swami Ramdev said that the newly established centre of excellence will prove a milestone in future dealing with disasters and tragedies arising from them at the global level. Patanjali has always played a leading role in the direction of humanitarian services in every disaster – whether it was Tsunami, Bihar floods, or Kedarnath tragedy in the past few decades. He mentioned the children who were adopted by Patanjali Gurukulum after the Kedarnath tragedy and called them real life heroes. He also emphasised on learning disaster management from Indian culture.
The audience was amazed to see the amount of effort and technical precision it took for the scientists of CBRI Roorkee in bringing the sun’s rays focused at a particular time on Ram Navmi in Ayodhya through a slide presentation. Dr Pradeep Kumar Ramancharia from CSIR and CBRI and other scientists were felicitated with citations read in Sanskrit language.
Vice Chancellor, Patanjali University, Acharya Balkrishna said that the International Centre of Excellence will take a systematic initiative for disaster management and public welfare at the global level in the coming times and, through student exchange programmes, the students of Patanjali will get a chance to get exposure of other countries.
Chief Guest at the inaugural function Dr Durgesh Pant, Director General of Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST), said that disaster management is embedded in the ecosystem of Indian culture. He said that the coordination of yoga and Ayurveda can prove to be an important factor in reducing mental and physical trauma, post disaster. He also presented a three-minute-long documentary on the Silkyara tunnel disaster and rescue operation.
World Bank’s representative in India, Dr Ashutosh Mohanty said that Patanjali University is the first institute in South Asia where a serious and organised initiative has been taken in the field of disaster medicine. He announced that the World Bank will provide scholarships, fellowships, PhD research and opportunities to participate in student exchange programmes in the field of disaster management and disaster medicine to the students of the university.
Professor Satyendra Mittal, the main coordinator of the workshop and Director of Distance Education, Patanjali University, explained in detail about the disasters caused by climate change and future plans for their redressal. He shared the recommendations received from the research papers presented by scholars from India and abroad and informed that these will also be sent to the World Bank, policy-making institutions, government-administration and major non-governmental organisations, for their perusal. He stated that the conference was organised in collaboration with DRA Infracon, Maccaferri, Mega Plast, Tech Fab and UCOST. Padma Shri awardee Dr BKS Sanjay was also felicitated on the occasion.
Amongst others, the keynote speaker Piyoosh Rautela emphasised the need to effectively deal with disasters and the tragedies caused by them by coordinating modern science, technology and positive thinking. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand, Sameer Sinha described community participation as the basic foundation for disaster management. Deepak Kumar Pandey from Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) shared his own experiences during rescue operations launched by ITBP in Kedar Valley. Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Mayank Kumar Aggarwal awarded the students of Patanjali for their excellent performance in PowerPoint Presentation and Poster making competition during the workshop.
Registrar, Patanjali University, Dr Alok Kumar Singh, Deputy Registrar Nirvikar, Dean Aarshadev, Dean, Academics and Research, Dr Ritwik Bisaria, Dr Anurag Varshney, Dean, Patanjali University, Prof (Dr) Devpriya, Dr Vedpriya, Dr Sahil Sardana, Dr VK Singh, Saurabh Vyas, Satendra, Piyush Rautela, DK Pandey, Dr PK Singh, Dr VK Sharma, Prof PK Singh, Dr Ajay Chaurasia, Dr Surya Prakash, Dr BD Patni along with the Deans, Heads of Departments, all faculty members and students of Patanjali University were present. Dr Nivedita Sharma and Dr Sangeeta Singh hosted the workshop.
