Five-Day National Workshop on India’s National Security and Disaster Management Begins at Central University of Kerala

Kasaragod: A five-day national-level workshop on India’s National Security and Disaster Management, organised by the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, started at the Central University of Kerala. The inaugural lecture, titled “Disasters and Public Action”, was delivered by Dr. B. Ashok IAS, Vice-Chancellor (i/c) of Kerala Agricultural University and Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala. In his address, Dr. Ashok highlighted the growing relevance of disaster management in the context of increasing natural calamities, drawing on examples from the 2018 floods and landslides in Kerala. He discussed the rapid urbanization in Kerala, its impact on land pressure, and the exacerbating effects of climate change on the state’s fragile environment.

The workshop also featured an interactive session with Brigadier Jeevan Rajpurohit (Retd) and Air Commodore Vijay Sathe (Retd). Dr. Meera S., Assistant Professor in the Department of Law at the Central University of Kerala, discussed disaster law and policy in India, while Dr. V. Balakrishnan, Member Secretary of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, addressed the workshop on the Biodiversity Act and environmental disasters.

The workshop was officially opened by Dr. Suresh Rangarajan, Head of the Department of International Relations and Politics, and concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Assistant Professor Kiran Raj V. The five-day workshop is being coordinated by Dr. Reinhart Philip, Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations and Politics, Central University of Kerala. The workshop will continue until 23rd August 2024.