Nepalgunj ramps up heatwave preparedness activities

By Siraj Khan,Nepalgunj, Mar. 27: A high-level monitoring and observation of heatwave preparedness and response activities has been carried out in the Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City area.

During the visit, officials reviewed ongoing initiatives related to extreme heat, including a presentation by the Nepal Red Cross Society, Banke, on its heatwave response activities.

Discussions were also held on joint efforts between Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City and the Red Cross. The monitoring team visited cooling centres and conducted field inspections of community-level activities.

Dinesh Bhatta, Executive Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said that heatwaves are an emerging disaster risk. He expressed satisfaction that Nepalgunj has been implementing model heatwave response programmes for the past few years.

He also said that the authority has been carrying out planned and systematic efforts to address such risks.

The monitoring team included David Fisher, head of the Nepal delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Executive Chief Bhatt; Joint Secretary Amrit Shrestha; Under Secretaries Rajendra Sharma and Suresh Sunar; Hari Bahadur Karki, Nepal representative of the American Red Cross; Programme Coordinator Upama Ojha and Amar Mani Paudel, Deputy Director at the central office of the Nepal Red Cross Society, among others.

The programme was chaired by Gobardhan Singh Samjhana, President of the Nepal Red Cross Society, Banke branch.

Dolakh Bahadur Dangi, Deputy Director of the branch, presented activities carried out to reduce the impacts of heatwaves over the years. Similarly, Nepalgunj Mayor Prashant Bista shared information on joint initiatives undertaken in partnership with the Red Cross.

The event was attended by Chief Administrative Officer Ram Hari Sharma, Minister of the Nepal Red Cross Society Banke branch Aziz Ahmad Siddiqui, Treasurer Rakesh Bahadur Srivastava, Disaster Management Committee members Narendra Kumar Paudel and Khageshwari Bhandari, and Shiv Kumar Verma, Coordinator of the municipal ad hoc committee, among others.