A two-day long training programme of teachers on disaster management and school safety was organised in Assam Administrative Staff College, Khanapara on April 23 and 24. All total 32 participants from different government and private high schools of Guwahati took part in this two-day training programme conducted under Urban Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction Project, Kamrup Metropolitan in collaboration with the Assam Administrative Staff College, Khanapara, said an official press release.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member M. Shashishar Reddy, who holds the rank of Union minister of state, has said that the National Cyclone Disaster Management Institute (NCDMI) will be established as an exclusive institutional set up in a coastal state. This assumes significance owing to India's vulnerability to cyclones. Most often, cyclones turn destructive because of torrential rain, gales and storm surges.

Leaders of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) yesterday submitted a memorandum to the food adviser urging introduction of countrywide rationing system, extending OMS programme and establishing a state buffer stock of essential items to rein in price spiral. Terming the food situation a very alarming, the LDF said a syndicate of crooked hoarders and businessmen hiked the prices of food grains when the government stock was very inadequate and, thus, bagged a huge benefit.

The government is going to construct new warehouses and repair old ones soon to enhance the storage capacity of food, Food and Disaster Management Adviser A M M Shawkat Ali said yesterday. The initiative has been taken up since the existing storage capacity will not be enough to store the targeted amount of food grains.

Eminent educationist Prof Muzaffer Ahmad yesterday called on the government to introduce food rationing for class three and four government employees to tackle the situation resulting from price hike of essentials. "Hunger could be lessened through food rationing for class three and four employees, which can be introduced by reducing the rations of another section of employees up to 50 percent. Increasing the salary of employees cannot reduce hunger," he said at a seminar.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will help Arunachal Pradesh in disaster management by imparting training to the police force, including communities, who are frontliners during disasters. Speaking on the sidelines of the two-day state level workshop on disaster and risk management here today, NDMA member K M Singh told reporters that the Central Statutory Body, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as its Chairman, would help the State in making preparations to cope with any situation during disasters.

The report readied by the committee to look into the Dow Chemical imbroglio has given a green signal for the construction at the Shinde village site, stating that it will be used only for research and development activities. It has also asked the company to get the requisite environmental clearance before they start operations and has asked the company to work with the local communities to generate employment opportunities for the villagers.