Uttarakhand Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat has instructed to release a sum of Rs. Five crore each to every District Magistrate of the state before the start of rainy season to meet any disaster in their respective district. The Chief Minister gave this directive while chairing a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority held at state secretariat here on Friday.
Addressing the meeting, Chief Minister said that local people have an important role to play in disaster management and they should be trained in dealing with any kind of disaster. He said that those Mahila Mangal Dals and Yuvak Mangal Dals which had already been given disaster management training should be retrained. He said that the requisite equipment required for disaster relief and safety should be made available at the local level. He also called for strengthening of the Incident Response System (IRS) and early warning system.
Chief Minister Mr Trivendra Singh Rawat said that special care should be taken of the areas prone to disaster. He said that areas vulnerable to earthquakes should also be identified and methods of effective disaster management and relief in those areas should be implemented. He also called for developing ballon technology for communication facilities in remote areas. He also inquired about the preparations of disaster relief and safety measures taken during night.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated the website of State Disaster Management Authority (usdma.uk.gov.in) and launched the mobile app related to Incident Response System (IRS) on the occasion.
He also released standard procedures, IRS coffee table book, Yuvak and Mahila Mangal Dal training, Disaster Safety Mitra Yojana and IRS checklist booklets. He also presented an amount of Rs. 25,000 and certificate as reward to Narendra Tomar who had won a logo competition of the State Disaster Management Authority. The Chief Minister also honoured the youth who helped in search and rescue operations during disaster.
DGP Anil Raturi said that after the natural disaster of 2013, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has been formed. He said that presently SDRF personnel have been stationed in 50 police stations of the state. There are four companies of SDRF and it has rescued 4858 people in 341 small and major disasters in the state. A total of 35,000 children have been given general training to meet disasters while 8500 children have been provided intensive one month training.
Secretary Disaster Management Amit Negi gave a detailed presentation on the preparations to meet any disaster. He said that 900 women groups at the village level have been trained for disaster management. He said that all the District Magistrates have been asked to conduct GIS mapping of their respective districts and 350 sensitive spots have identified.
This innovative afforestation drive has touched a cord not only in its birth state of Uttarakhand but crossed over inter-state borders and taken wings in foreign shores of Nepal, Dubai, Indonesia and Canada as well.
Ridhim Thapar adds, “In the past few months, over a hundred people have walked through these doors, at a basic fee for various facilities being provided, we are also weighing various start-up options for financially backing.’
Now what would Harry Potter/Quidditch have in common with the Garhwal Himalayas and its habitants? Many would wonder. Well, here is a story of how 27 year old Freelancer Photographer, Education Trainer Anshu Agarwal, recreated the game and its magic for children of Kalap, a village in Tons Valley some two years ago.
Taking about the shoot Anshu tells us how, “It was while i was teaching English to my students that I showed them the movie Harry Potter. The children were so mesmerised by the movie that they asked me to recreate the magic for them, a request i could not turn down and thus, the shoot happened.”
Anshu remembers, “Their wish was my command! Simple. I set about recreating the magic for the young enthusiastic children, who worked on war-footing to arrange for a broomsticks, a one meter long wooden bench and a volleyball, and of course more than willing young children with colourful capes and caps to be my models and actors.”
