Mr. Pravin Bhagwantrao Dhat (India)
My name is (Mr.) Pravin Bhagwantrao Dhat, and I have come from India
to serve as a Visiting Researcher at the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC).
I work as an Assistant Commandant for the National Disaster Response Force(NDRF), an organisation of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government ofIndia. I graduated with a degree in Agricultural Sciences and have completed aPost Graduate Diploma in Disaster Management.
The NDRF of India is the largest dedicated disaster response force inthe world and is responsible for providing specialised response duringdisasters, as well as providing disaster management training and conducting
various capacity building and disaster risk reduction activities on a routine
basis. I joined the NDRF on assignment from the Central Reserve Police Force in June 2020 and am posted
at the 5th Battalion of the NDRF in Pune, Maharashtra. I am responsible for the general supervision andmanagement of an NDRF company. I am also involved in various operational, training, and capacity
building activities in the states of Maharashtra and Goa. I am a qualified rescuer trained in various fields
such as medical first response, collapsed structure search and rescue, aquatic disaster response,
firefighting, animal disaster response, and dead body management, with specialised training in mountainsearch & rescue and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear emergencies. Additionally, I haveundertaken courses on topics like strategic management, INSARAG, and gender concerns in disastermanagement.
India is located in the southern part of Asia and shares borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan, China,Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Due to its unique geo-climatic and socio- economic conditions,India has been vulnerable, in varying degrees, to a large number of natural and human-induced disasters.
It is highly vulnerable to floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, and forest fires.
Global warming and climate change have also increased the occurrence and intensity of hydrometeorological disasters. Human induced disasters like accidents are also on a constant rise. Hence, there
is an increasingly intense focus on disaster risk reduction and disaster management in India.
Due to its geographical, topographical and meteorological conditions, Japan faces frequent
natural disasters such as typhoons, torrential rains and heavy snowfalls, as well as earthquakes, volcaniceruptions, and tsunamis. Disaster damage in Japan has been on the decline due the progress of society's
ability to respond to disasters and mitigate vulnerabilities by developing disaster management systems,
promoting national land conservation, improving weather forecasting technologies, and upgrading
disaster information communications systems. Thus, there is quite a lot to learn from Japan.
During my stay in Japan, I look forward to gaining insights into the Japanese system of disastermanagement, especially in the domain of response at various levels. I am confident that I will be able toapply the knowledge and skills that I gain through this program in relevant fields of practice in India.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Asian Disaster Reduction Center and theGovernment of India for giving me this opportunity to participate in the Visiting Researcher Program forthe fiscal year 2022.