After being involved in relief and rehabilitation work with victims of floods,earthquakes,blasts,riots,among others,the Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management (JTCDM) at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is now working towards expanding into a School for Social Risk Management. The aim is to build expertise in public health,conflict,governance,disaster risk reduction,humanitarian logistics,geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing,and bridge the existing lacunae. We currently offer an MA/MSc programme in disaster management and within these are several specialisations. Now,we intend to expand into a school which can have multiple centres and each centre can offer a Masters programme to extensively cover a range of issues critical to disaster risk reduction,preparedness and mitigation efforts, said Mahesh Kamble,chairperson,JTCDM. Stating that there is a huge need for trained personnel in the area,Kamble said the centres involvement with victims of tsunamis,terror attacks,conflicts and cyclones,among others,have exposed faculty and students to gaping holes in disaster risk reduction. For instance,our ongoing work with victims of 26/11 and July 13 terror attacks have shown that there is an urgent need to expand support services to address long-term impacts. The social,financial and psychological impact of a disaster on a person can be immense and currently,proper intervention plans dont exist. Psycho-social care is crucial after every disaster, he said. He further said that another critical aspect of disaster management is to anticipate what is required and supply relief products and services in the most efficient manner so that the impact can be reduced considerably. These are issues we can address more effectively through the proposed school. Again,governance is an important aspect and we may decide to offer it as a core subject, said Kamble. The JTCDM,which has completed five years,underwent a detailed review by both internal and external experts. The experts recommended that the centre should now grow into a school. The proposal to expand is being prepared and will have to be approved by the TISS authorities,including the academic council. It was suggested that we should go beyond disaster management. Experts said that issues like understanding of vulnerability and social risks must be addressed in a big way, he added.
