PANAJI
The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) this year will get 400 additional pairs of hands of civilian volunteers to join in their task to manage any emergency anywhere in the State during the upcoming monsoon.
These 400 civilian volunteers from both North and South districts, have undergone intensive training and are issued certificates, IDs and also disaster management kits.
"We have people in all the talukas. They have all been trained, issued certificates and IDs. They have also been geo-tagged. As and when they are needed we will take them on board for ground zero operations depending on where the disaster/emergency has happened," said Nitin Raikar, Director of Fire and Emergency Services.
Raikar's department is the nodal department for the SDMA and will be the first-response agency in case of any emergency although much of the logistics, finances and coordination with other departments will be managed from a dedicated cell in each of the two district collectorates.
Raikar said, they have been careful enough to ensure that there is enough equipment across all the three zones -- North (Panaji), Central (Ponda) and South (Margao) -- including electric saws, rescue boats and even remote sensing equipment.
Even the 400 civilian volunteers trained and certified, have been given disaster management kits, Raikar added.
SHELTERS
Most incidents during the monsoons in Goa where the SDMA teams step in involve minor landslides, trees collapsing and flooding of low-lying areas, the latter requiring relocation of families whose dwelling houses could be under threat.
This is when the multipurpose cyclone shelters, the SDMA has readied, will come handy.
There are six such shelters in locations across South Goa and some more in North Goa as well, where people affected by disasters will be temporarily housed.
In South Goa, these shelters have come up at Sancoale, Dabolim, Cansaulim Mahalwada, Chapoli and Nagarcem, the last three in Canacona. Also there is one shelter at Aquem in Margao.
These shelters were built by the State government through the Water Resources Department (WRD) under a Central project funded by the World Bank. They have sleeping areas, toilets, a kitchen and are resistant to disasters including earthquakes which can be of intensity of up to 9 on the Richter scale.
