A specialised course on disaster management is now being taught only as a module in the environment management course.
"There are no concrete plans just now, but it definitely remains a potential development if there is thrust from the government," said K M Agrawal, head of the environment management department, at a media workshop on Strengthening Floods: Early Warning for the Vulnerable Community in West Bengal, organised in association with Oxfam and the non-government organisations, SPADE and SSUP.
Ashoke K Dutta, director of IISWBM, said the institute would assist the media with technical knowledge, adding: "IISWBM plans to organise a series of workshops to help the media upgrade knowledge in various fields. The institution will help journalists upgrade technical knowledge.
Lack of cooperation among different government departments about information sharing and the lack of clear information provided to the media in disaster prone areas were discussed at the workshop.