Civil Defence to conduct free specialized training courses
By Bushra Rafique

ISLAMABAD—The Civil Defence Organization has decided to conduct free of cost specialized training courses in search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation, Director General Civil Defence Sarfaraz Arshad Toor said here Sunday.
In the past the department used to charge tuition fee ranging from 2000 to over 10,000 rupees for a specialized course while basic training was given totally free of cost, he said.
Sarfaraz Arshad Toor said volunteers from government and semi-government departments, autonomous bodies, private, commercial and industrial groups would be enrolled for specialized courses.
He said on the request of the Civil Defence Department, the Secretary Interior, Syed Kamal Shah, has approved free of cost training to all participants of the civil defence courses at eight training institutions working in four provinces and Azad Kashmir.
The DG said the department would train master trainers and participants of National Volunteers Movement (NVM), who could further disseminate the knowledge in their respective organizations and fields.
He said at present the department is imparting training to some 300 volunteers from NVM and coordinating with chairman NVM to ensure that all volunteers are trained in relevant civil defence courses.
There are 68 courses that cover all types of disasters including flood, earthquake, fire, accident, Sarfaraz Toor said.
The Civil Defence Organization was established with the foremost responsibility to educate the maximum number of people in the minimum possible time in safety measures during emergencies.
At present 18,000 civil defence employees are engaged in relief and rehabilitation activities in NWFP and AJK, the Director General Civil Defence said.