A two-day exhibition aimed at creating awareness among people, particularly the youth, about disaster management began at the University of Peshawar on Tuesday 9th June 2010.

Vice-chancellor Azmat Hayat Khan inaugurated the exhibition organized by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Management (CDPM) of the University of Peshawar.

Organizers of 32 stalls set up by different national public and private as well as international relief and donor organizations informed the visitors about disaster preparedness and emergency responses.

Speaking at a gathering after the inaugural ceremony, CDPM director Amir Nawaz Khan said the province had seen worst disasters in the forms of the 2005 earthquake and the floods of 2008, which caused huge human and material losses. In such a situation, he said, skilled manpower was needed to rescue people during a disaster.

Asghar Ali, acting director general of the PDMA, said the purpose of holding this event was to increase awareness about disaster management and strengthen linkages between organizations working for disaster management and calamity mitigation. He said organizations working in the field of disaster management were provided this platform so that people could know about them and their role.

He said Emergency Response Unit had been set up to provide relief to those affected by Operation Rah-i-Rast and once the disaster was over, their role was taken over by the PDMA.