Chandigarh, 5 October 2026: The five-day training programme on Disaster Preparedness and Response for the fourth batch of Civil Defence Volunteers commenced today at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA), Sector 26, Chandigarh. The programme is being organised by the Chandigarh Disaster Management Authority (CDMA), Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with MGSIPA, Government of Punjab.

Shri Nishant Kumar Yadav, IAS, Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chairperson, District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), U.T. Chandigarh, was the Chief Guest and delivered the inaugural address. He emphasised the importance of preparedness, practical training and coordinated community-level response. He encouraged the volunteers to make the most of the training to strengthen their knowledge, skills and confidence to support communities effectively during emergencies.

The inaugural session was attended by Ms. Khuspreet Kaur, DANICS, SDM (Central), Chandigarh; Shri Rajiv Tewari, Director Public Relations, Chandigarh Administration; Shri Sanjeev Kohli; Dr. Balakrishna; and Col. Atul Pandey, Lead, Disaster Management Centre, MGSIPA.

Er. Nitika Singla, Faculty, MGSIPA, delivered the welcome address and outlined the objectives of the programme, while Col. Atul Pandey delivered the keynote address. The session also featured a video showcasing the training journey of 419 Civil Defence Volunteers trained in earlier batches.

The programme, being held from 5 to 9 October 2026, will provide volunteers with theoretical and practical training in Civil Defence, search and rescue, fire safety, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies, first aid, basic life support (BLS), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), triage, crowd and traffic management, incident response and emergency coordination. It will also include field exposure and simulation-based exercises.

The programme aims to strengthen the capacity of Civil Defence Volunteers as trained community-level responders and contribute to safer, better-prepared and more resilient communities.