Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government will set up a disaster relief training centre to address the problem of availability of skilled and qualified personnel to carry out rescue work in times of disasters.
According to a state government spokesman, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the availability of qualified and skilled personnel is the primary requirement for relief work.
The more skilled the personnel, the more effective is the relief work, he said and directed SDRF to coordinate with NDRF for this work.
Another important direction he issued was to set up early warning systems in all 75 districts within the next three months.
In 2022-23, a total 301 people died in 52 districts due to natural calamities while this year 174 casualties have been reported in 36 districts so far.
“These deaths can be stopped with the help of technology. Today, the technology has improved so much that a lightning strike can be detected three to four hours before it occurs, while the exact location can be known an hour before. If people get information in time, there will be no loss of public money. Digital platforms like Damini App, Meghdoot developed by the Government of India should also be widely publicised,” the Chief Minister said.
He further directed that Emergency Operation Centres in all districts should be integrated with the integrated command and control centres, and asked officials to install public address systems linked with early warning systems in all gram panchayats and urban bodies.
The state government will be providing land to the NDRF for its Regional Response Centres in Bareilly and Jhansi.
The Chief Minister also encouraged officials to use the end-to-end computerised relief management system through which the entire process from beneficiary selection, digital approval and transfer of funds to their account has become paperless.
Uttar Pradesh is the first state to implement this.
Highlighting the role of Aapda Mitras in times of disaster, Yogi said that the state is highly prone to disasters and therefore, aapda mitras should be appointed in all districts at the earliest.
He said that the safety of personnel engaged in rescue work should also be ensured in times of relief work.
In addition to this, public awareness campaigns on ‘what to do-what not to do’ at the time of calamities like flood, earthquake, lightning etc should be carried out.
The Chief Minister pointed out that often in rural areas, there are incidents of children drowning in rivers and ponds, and awareness of the dos and don’ts could significantly reduce such accidents.
–IANS
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