At least 10 people were killed when landslides triggered by heavy rains hit western Nepal recently. Hundreds of people lose lives annually in Nepal due to disasters.


As the rainy season is gaining a firm grip, various kinds of natural disasters are very much on the cards in the near future. Expressing his commitment to strengthening disaster operation, Armed Police chief Kos Raj Onta recently visited the Disaster Management and Training Center.


Asian Development Bank’s report a few months back stated that Nepal is the fourth vulnerable nation to climate change and is also a frequent recipient of natural disasters.


Armed Police Force (APF) is the main organization that is at the helm for disaster management. APF established a “disaster management training center” at Kurintar, Chitwan on March 2012 with the aim of providing disaster management training to its force, among others.


Including four higher police officials, 48 others were successfully trained at the training center recently. They were given training on physical fitness, swimming, rafting, first aid, and also on prompt rescue. They were given knowledge about disaster management and its process.


Inspector General of APF Kosh Raj Onta gave encouragement speech on the completion of the training.


Onta said training will hold high significance in the real disaster management process and said trainees should transform the knowledge learned on training back on to the work field.


He also stressed that APF will give full support in the disaster management as disasters might strike any time in a disaster vulnerable country like Nepal.


During the establishment of the training center, APF believed that it will be able to train its force in a more effective and managed way and improve the overall quality in disaster handling. It said the team which came back after receiving disaster management training from abroad such as from Philippines and India will instruct the trainees.