Kangra, April 4
The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Kangra held a Disaster Awareness Day at the Police Ground in Dharamshala to mark the 121st anniversary of the 1905 Kangra earthquake. Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa, who was chief guest on the occasion, launched an awareness rally and supervised training sessions to strengthen community resilience and individual preparedness for natural disasters.
The day began with a rally featuring the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Aapda Mitras, and a police band. The march raised public awareness about the region’s high seismic risk and concluded at the Police Ground with technical demonstrations.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa underscored the critical need for speed and accuracy during emergencies. “In the current era, it is essential that citizens receive information only from authentic sources. For any verified updates regarding a disaster, the District Emergency Operation Center should be the primary point of contact,” Bairwa said. He further noted that since earthquakes can cause widespread destruction in a matter of seconds, “every person must be prepared at a personal level.”
The event focused on technical capacity building. The SDRF conducted live First Aid and CPR drills, while the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Response Force and Fire Department demonstrated advanced rescue equipment. Street plays (Nukkad Nataks) were performed to make safety protocols accessible to the public.
Bairwa encouraged young people to consider disaster management as both a civic responsibility and a potential career. He highlighted that regular district training programs build essential skills and can “open new career opportunities” while strengthening the state’s first-responder network.
