Rescue 1122 observes ‘National Resilience Day’ in Punjab

Event held in memory of victims of October 8, 2005 earthquake

LAHORE:  

Rescue 1122 observed National Resilience Day across Punjab in memory of the victims of the October 8 earthquake which devastated the northern part of the country in 2005.

A ceremony was held at the Rescue Command Control Centre on Ferozpur Lahore. The ceremony included an awareness walk which started from the centre and ended at Salma Chowk. The walk was led by Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer while Lahore District Emergency Officer Shahid Waheed Qamar and other officials were also present. A large number of scouts participated in the event by distributing pamphlets and holding placards bearing safety slogans.

Rescue 1122 DG offered prayers for the victims and expressed his solidarity with their families. He also expressed his sorrow and grief for the thousands of lives that were lost in the earthquake.

He stressed that implementing fire safety provisions, outlined by the Pakistan Engineering Council and the Community Safety Programme, can help build disaster resilient communities in Pakistan.

He expressed these views at a special ceremony held at the Rescue Command and Control Centre. He added that one million rescue scouts shall be registered and trained under the Community Safety Programme in order to develop a resilient Punjab.

Further, Naseer said that after establishing Special Urban Search and Rescue Teams at a divisional level, the service is now capable of responding to any untoward incident. Such incidents also provide us an opportunity for capacity building; we should focus on developing our systems to prevent future disasters, he said.

He maintained that an integrated infrastructure is essential for saving people’s lives and providing citizens with timely disaster response. Punjab Emergency Service is now promoting safety through the Community Safety Programme to establish social responsibility.

Community Emergency Response Teams are being established by Rescue 1122 at union councils across Punjab. After enrolling and training, scouts are assisting in emergency response drills, risk reduction and the prevention of emergencies for establishing safer communities.

Naseer added that although Rescue 1122 had rescued over 6.3 million victims of emergencies, public awareness and community participation was essential for preventing them.

Earlier, the director general gave certificates to those scouts who had participated in different disaster awareness and prevention activities.