Fecha de publicación: 12/11/2024 Fuente: Journal of Applied Research in Technology & Engineering (JARTE) Abstract
The Kashmir Valley, situated in the North-Western Himalayas, is susceptible to multiple hazards, having endured various calamities. This current research aims to conduct a comparative assessment of the risks posed by Health, Safety and Environmental hazards at specific locations within three public universities of the region. The objective was to evaluate the Health, Safety, and Environmental risks and their severity within the academic institutions. In this study, Health, Safety, and Environmental hazards were identified through the purposive sampling applied during the field survey in the year 2021 within three public universities namely the University of Kashmir, the Central University and the Islamic University of Science & Technology from Srinagar, Ganderbal and Pulwama districts of Kashmir Valley respectively, and associated risks were assessed using the international risk assessment template ISO 31000. The frequencies of moderate and high risks were calculated using the risk matrix with a scale from 1 to 25 for each university, revealing that the University of Kashmir (UOK) poses the highest risk, followed by the Central University of Kashmir (CUK) and the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), respectively. The study revealed high positive correlations of 0.86 and 0.82 between the likelihood of hazards and the type of site at the University of Kashmir and Central University of Kashmir, respectively. Additionally, a moderate positive correlation of 0.75 was found for the Islamic University of Science and Technology. The conclusion drawn from the study emphasizes the need for universities to adopt risk assessment plans to create a more secure and resilient educational environment, ensuring the safety of life and maintaining higher standards of learning.