Rescue 1122 observes Disaster Resilience Day in Punjab

DG says integrated emergency services system is essential for saving lives

LAHORE: The Punjab Emergency Service (PES), Rescue 1122, observed Disaster Resilience Day across the province on Tuesday in remembrance of the victims of the October 8 earthquake which devastated the northern part of the country in 2005.

Ceremonies were held all across Punjab. Similarly, a ceremony was also organised at Rescue Headquarters and the Emergency Services Academy. Senior officers from Rescue Headquarters, the Emergency Services Academy, rescuers and scouts were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, Rescue 1122 Director General Rizwan Naseer stated that over 600,000 first aiders have been trained under the community safety programme, in order to have rescuers in each home.

In order to raise awareness among the general public, district emergency officers arranged awareness walks and special activities to mark the day.

He added that after the establishment of urban search and rescue teams in Punjab, PES has significantly raised its capacity to respond to any natural disaster and major incident as compared to the past.

He stated that such incidents also provide us with an opportunity for capacity building. Therefore, we should focus on developing our system to prevent future disasters, he said. He maintained that an integrated emergency services infrastructure is essential for saving lives and providing citizens with timely emergency response.

The service is working towards promoting safety through the community safety programme to establish socially responsible, healthy, safe and resilient communities in the province.

The DG expressed his satisfaction on the establishment of over 4,000 community emergency response teams in all union councils of Punjab and training of over 600,000 volunteers.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2019.