FSAI-SPIT Installation

Wednesday, October 11, marked the installation of the student chapter of Fire and Safety Association of India in Sardar Patel Institute of Technology. This, being the first student chapter of its kind in the whole of Mumbai, was a matter of immense pride for everyone at SPIT.

The event, organized by the newly elected FSAI-SPIT student committee, was held in the SPJIMR Auditorium. It commenced with the national anthem. This was followed by the powerful FSAI anthem which highlighted the principles of FSAI. Priyanka Rokade, from S.E. Computers, gave the event a melodious start with the Saraswati Vandana.

The event was inaugurated by the Guest of Honour, Mr Pankaj Dharkar, the national president of FSAI, by the lighting of an innovative, fireproof, electric lamp, designed SPIT students. He gave a speech explaining the various initiatives and events undertaken by FSAI throughout the year. He also spoke about FSIE, a student-exchange programme held by FSAI in Bangalore.  Next up, Mr Shriram Nahalkar, former Executive Director of Jacobs Engineering India, spoke about the importance of safety in our day-to-day lives and how we tend to ignore the safety and security of those around us, owing to our own busy schedules. After this, Dr S.M. Shendorkar, the chair of Student Activities of FSAI, spoke about how the installation of the student chapter of FSAI in SPIT will highly benefit the students.

The next speaker, Mr Sanjeevan Joshi, spoke about disaster management and his experience in the field. He shared some his anecdotes regarding his expertise and incidents related to disaster management issues. He highlighted the value of human life and explained how it was important to ensure the safety of one’s own life before trying to save others’.

The elected student committee then took an oath and the President, Sumedh Deshprabhu, Vice President Rajiv Philip and Treasurer, Poornima Mokadum of the committee were felicitated by Dr Prachi Gharpure.

This was followed by a demonstration showing a number of self-defence techniques for women. The seminar was concluded with a talk by Dr Surendra Rathod. All the students were given a Fire-Safety Kit, their FSAI ID cards and certificate of appreciation for being a member of FSAI towards the end of the seminar.

After the lunch break, the ABL activities began in full swing. The skits highlighted the importance of the safety of women. They aptly portrayed the numerous struggles that women face in their daily lives, even in the “progressive” metropolitan cities. The judging panel consisted of none other than Dr Prachi Gharpure, principal SPIT and Dr Surendra Rathod, Dean of Academics.

Short Film Competition portrayed domestic fire-safety and women-safety. The judges and faculties appreciated their efforts of expressing their ideology in a visual-narrative perspective. Dr Surendra Rathod

The poster making competition, which received an overwhelming response, was held in the library. Students made posters about topics ranging from Safety in Transportation to First Aid Principles and Safety in Engineering Practices. A few of the outstanding posters were selected for the national level poster making competition.

The event was concluded by felicitating all the judges and thanking them for their immense contribution to the event. All the second year students of SPIT left the college premises with a broad mindset regarding the various types of safety measures and their implementations.

-A report by Jai Puro