Haridwar: The two day long international workshop organized in the University of Patanjali on Climate Change, Disaster Management and Disaster Medicine concluded on a positive note with many firsts attached to it. Â Professor Ruben of Spain University, Prof. Roberto Mugavero, Chairman of Disaster Medicine Group of World Bank from Italy, Prof. B. Sitaula of Norway University and scientist of Nepal Disaster Management Center 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 was also formed.
Highlights of the conference:
- Disaster medicine and management will be included in the course curriculum of UOP
- International Centre of Excellence and IPR Patent Cell established
- World Bank announces fellowship and scholarship for Patanjali students
- CBRI scientists share technical inputs and challenges of conducting Surya Tilak of Ram Lalla
- Internationally renowned scientists from four countries participated
- Cultural evening with musical and dance performances by students of UOP
Addressing the gathering University auditorium, Chancellor of Patanjali University Yogrishi 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 enumerated the children who were adopted by Patanjali gurukulum after the Kedarnath tragedy and called them real life heroes. He also emphasized on learning disaster management from our Indian culture, how Lord Hanuman had helped mitigate the disaster by bringing Sanjeevani herb from Himalayas when Laxman had fainted.
The audience was flabbergasted to see the amount of effort and technical precision taken by the scientists of CBRI Roorkee in bringing sun rays focused at particular time of Ram Navmi in Ayodhya through the slides presentation. Dr Pradeep Kumar Ramancharia from CSIR and CBRI and other scientists were felicitated with citations read in Sanskrit language.
Vice Chancellor of Patanjali University Acharya Balkrishna said that this 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 programs, the students of Patanjali will get a chance to get exposure of other countries.
Presiding as the chief guest during 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. Dr. Pant also said that this International Center of Excellence established by Patanjali University is a unique effort to combine scientific and cultural approaches in the field of disaster medicine and management. 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 organized initiative has been taken in the field of disaster medicine. He praised this initiative of Patanjali University and announced that the World Bank will provide scholarships, fellowships, PhD research and opportunities to participate in student exchange programs 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, while highlighting the objective of the workshop, 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 organizations, for their perusal. He informed that the conference was organized in collaboration with DRA Infracon, Maccaferri, Mega Plast, Tech Fab and UCOST. Padamshri Dr B K S Sanjay was also honored on the occasion.
World Bank's India representative Dr. Ashutosh Mohanty lauded the initiative of University of Patanjali and announced that the World Bank will provide opportunities for participation in fellowships for PhD research and organizing student exchange programs for the students of the host University in the field of disaster management and disaster medicine.
Amongst others, the keynote speaker Piyoosh Rautela emphasized 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 of Patanjali University Dr Alok Kumar Singh, Deputy Registrar Nirvikar, Dean Aarshadev, Dean Academic and Research Dr. Ritwik Bisaria, Dr. Anurag Varshney, Dean of Patanjali University Prof. (Dr.) Devpriya , Dr. Vedpriya, Dr. Sahil Sardana, Dr. V.K. Singh, Saurabh Vyas, Satendra, Piyush Rautla, D K Pandey, Dr. PK Singh, Dr. V K Sharma, Prof. P K 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.