The death of an engineer in Greater Noida after falling into a pit had raised serious questions about disaster management in Uttar Pradesh. Now, the Uttar Pradesh government has taken a major step to prevent such a recurrence.
The State Disaster Management Authority will train municipal corporation employees as ‘Disaster Friends’ to minimize damage from disasters and ensure quick relief in urban areas of the state.
According to officials, this training will be provided at the district level to strengthen disaster management capabilities in urban areas.
State Relief Commissioner Rishikesh Bhaskar said here on Friday that municipal corporation employees will be trained as Disaster Friends and deployed in the efficient operation of disaster management activities.
The trained personnel will provide immediate assistance as first responders in any emergency or disaster situation and empower urban communities in disaster management.
He said that a total of 1,700 personnel from 17 municipal corporations will receive 12-day residential training from the State Disaster Management Authority. 100 personnel have been selected from each municipal corporation for the training.
He said that these include Agra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura-Vrindavan, Meerut, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Shahjahanpur, Varanasi and Firozabad. After the completion of the training, the Disaster Friends will also be provided with emergency responder kits.
Along with this, active wardens and volunteers of the Civil Defence Department will also be trained as Disaster Friends. Approximately 7,500 active wardens/volunteers from various districts of the state will be trained and designated as Disaster Friends.
The Relief Commissioner clarified that the training given to the personnel of the municipal corporations and the Civil Defence Department will be in accordance with the standards set by the National Disaster Management Authority. The prescribed qualifications and standards will be strictly followed in the selection of Disaster Friends.
On Friday, January 16, a car, due to dense fog, went out of control and fell into a pit filled with water more than 20 feet deep in Sector 150 of Greater Noida, resulting in the death of a 27-year-old software engineer. This incident has raised continuous questions about the system, particularly the State Disaster Management Department. People alleged that the Disaster Management Department was negligent.