Gautam Budh Nagar: Volunteers to get disaster response training
Noida: To develop a community-led disaster resilience, a group of 100 volunteers from Gautam Budh Nagar will undergo a 12-day residential training that is designed to prepare interested youth into capable first responders in their local areas during any calamity or disaster. In total, 4,800 'Aapda Mitras' will be trained in two phases across 48 districts of the state. Each district has nominated 100 participants, officials said. (HT Photo)
In total, 4,800 'Aapda Mitras' will be trained in two phases across 48 districts of the state. Each district has nominated 100 participants, officials said.
At the Collectorate premises in Surajpur, Greater Noida, district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma on Wednesday flagged off the volunteers who will undergo training under the 'Aapda Mitra' scheme, a central government initiative launched by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to train community volunteers as first responders during natural and man-made disasters.
'Preparedness at the community level is the backbone of effective disaster response. The Aapda Mitra initiative empowers our youth to act swiftly and responsibly in times of crisis. I congratulate all the selected volunteers and hope they serve as inspiring role models in their communities,' the DM said.
To be held in Lucknow from May 8 to 20, the training is part of a state-wide programme led by the Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (UPSDMA), in accordance with standards laid out by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), New Delhi.
The volunteers include enthusiastic youth from the NCC (national cadets corps), Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD), and local community groups like Mangal Dal, all selected to act as first responders during natural or man-made disasters, officials added.
The programme is being executed locally under the coordination of Omkar Chaturvedi, a district disaster management specialist, who said the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) will provide hands-on training in essential emergency response skills, including swimming, rescue techniques, first aid, CPR (a life-saving emergency procedure), and more.
'The initiative aims to build a strong network of community-level responders who can immediately step in to help during any disaster. The training will equip them not only with life-saving skills but also with a sense of responsibility toward their communities. From life-saving techniques like CPR and first aid to rescue operations and swimming, the Aapda Mitras will be fully equipped to respond to emergencies in their local areas,' he added.
All selected Aapda Mitras will receive a certificate and official identity card upon successful completion of the training, a government-issued Emergency Responder Kit, an insurance policy for safety during deployment, full arrangements for travel, lodging, meals, and training materials, all facilitated by SDRF Lucknow, officials said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Yoga parks to come up in Gr Noida soon
Noida: With International Yoga Day approaching on June 21, officials in Gautam Buddha Nagar have begun preparations to promote yoga through year-round infrastructure and public engagement. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now As part of these efforts, at least 10 parks across Noida and Greater Noida will be developed into dedicated yoga parks. District magistrate Manish Kumar Verma has directed officials to identify suitable green spaces that can serve as venues for regular yoga practice. These parks will be equipped with essential amenities and host community yoga events during Yoga Week, observed from June 15 to 20. Regional ayurvedic and Unani officer Dr Dharmendra Kumar Jain said the move is aimed at encouraging public participation. "Ten parks have been designated, including D Park in Sector 62, Noida Stadium Park, Sector 115 Park, Greater Noida's City Park, NTPC Park, among others. These locations will host large group yoga sessions," said Dr Jain. In an effort to connect with younger audiences, the administration also plans to launch 'Yoga Unplugged', a social media campaign inviting participants to share their yoga journeys through videos and photos. Officials said that scenic and culturally significant locations—such as the banks of the Yamuna and Hindon rivers, Amrit Sarovars, ponds, and heritage sites—will be utilised to host yoga events. Departments have been directed to carry out pre-event cleanliness drives in both rural and urban areas.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Kichan, Menar in Rajasthan get Ramsar tags
The Union environment ministry announced on Wednesday that two new wetlands — Kichan in Phalodi and Menar in Udaipur — from Rajasthan have been designated as Ramsar sites, taking up the list of such wetlands in India to 91. Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. Commenting on the development, PM Modi said on X, 'Great news! India's strides in environmental conservation are happening with great vigour and are powered by public participation.' 'The achievement is yet another testament to the fact that PM Shri @narendramodi ji's focus on environmental conservation is successfully helping India build a greener tomorrow,' Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav wrote on X. HT had reported on May 19 that in Rajasthan, a small village, less than 50 km off Udaipur, has emerged as a biodiversity hotspot with sightings of several threatened and near-threatened bird species over the last few years. These sightings and community-driven conservation efforts have bestowed Menar with the moniker of 'bird village'. Recent sightings include species such as cinereous vulture, long-billed vulture, Himalayan griffon vulture and Egyptian vulture in the grasslands, besides Asian wooly-necked stork, ferruginous pochard, Dalmatian pelican, and black-tailed godwit in the Menar wetlands. India has the largest number of Ramsar wetlands in Asia, according to the ministry. Under the Convention on Wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty for conservation of wetlands, contracting parties are expected to identify and place suitable wetlands onto the List of Wetlands of International Importance, or the Ramsar List.
Economic Times
3 days ago
- Economic Times
Cities have failing infra and poor crowd management SOPs say Urban planners
An evening of celebration for RCB turned into a tragedy at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a stampede claimed 11 lives, highlighting the cracks in the city's civic planning and crowd control systems. Citizens and experts alike have questioned the government's preparedness and the promise of 'Brand Bengaluru' to handle large gatherings, especially at high-footfall venues. Urban planners told ET that not just Bengaluru, but many civic agencies in Indian cities fail to have robust standing operating procedures (SOPs) for crowd management. 'We tend to employ very ad hoc measures to manage crowds, poor fencing, lack of proper pathways, poor lighting and lack of emergency services,' said Ujjvala Krishna, urban researcher at WELL labs. She added that there is a clear lack of foresight in building long-term infrastructure that anticipates such scale.'Bengaluru doesn't have an active master plan. The Regional and Metropolitan Area Master Plan for 2031 is still a draft. It's more like a reference. Other major metros like Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai have active master plans,' Krishna said. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which makes rules for handling disasters in India, released a guide in 2014 to help state governments, local bodies, event organisers, and police manage large crowds safely. The guideline titled 'Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering' suggests that before any big event, authorities should do a Rapid Venue Assessment to check preparedness. This includes an 11-point checklist evaluating aspects such as disaster preparedness, stakeholder coordination, crowd flow, safety, emergency response, ability to manage complexity, and potential for crowd growth, all rated on a scale from poor to best in urban planner from Bengaluru with over 30 years of experience in architecture and urban design said civic bodies are supposed to have SOPs. 'It's a combination problems of law and order, traffic management, and civic bodies. I don't think they have individual SOPs or even a common one,' he said, suggesting that such celebrations can be delayed by a day or two and organised with proper planning. The NDMA has also issued Guidelines on the Incident Response System (IRS), to ensure that there is a structured and coordinated emergency response. The guideline emphasises the need to encourage research on crowd behaviour and psychology to better inform planning and risk mitigation at mass urban planner said mismanagement of crowds is not an isolated incident. 'We've had enough of these events to actually learn from them. The answer lies in capacitating our governance systems to deliver better,' the expert said, requesting is not the first time a stampede has claimed lives. Earlier this year on February 15, a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station resulted in 18 people losing their lives. During Maha Kumbh in Prayaraj on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, where lakhs arrived to take a holy dip at the Sangam, 30 died and over 60 were injured despite advisories and emergency policy advisors also highlighted that cities continue to build for lower capacity than needed. They pointed out that metro cities have inadequate road infrastructure, pavements barely exist, and public mobility services are congested and worn down.
