PANAJI
The Goa government will entrust the responsibility of dealing with drowning cases in the State with Fire and Emergency Services. Speaking at the function to hand over certificates to the first batch of 37 Aapda Mitra and Aapda Sakhi, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that till now Goa is dependent on the Navy to rescue inland drowning cases. The Aapda Mitra and Aapda Sakhi, who will work on a voluntary basis, are given training to deal with emergency situations in the State, especially during natural disasters.
The first batch of Apada Mitra and Aapda Sakhi will be rolled out now and it is for the first time that the Central government has taken this decision under the National Disaster Management team of appointing voluntary Aapda Mitra and Aapda Sakhi, stated the CM. “These are like the home guard services in the Police who work voluntarily. These services also began with the similar fashion and those who voluntarily joined the home guard services and took training, later joined the Police force. They were given posts in the Police,” said Sawant, adding, “In the similar way, in future Aapda Mitra and Aapda Sakhi will also get the reservation in the services in the Fire and Emergency department.”
The Chief Minister advised these Aapda Mitra and Aapda Sakhi to take as much benefit of their training as possible. He pointed out that due to climate change, any disaster can happen anytime and there is no such thing that a particular season will witness a particular weather or disaster. Disasters are bound to happen and in disaster management, separate certificate courses that run under the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). So, keep upgrading yourself, said the CM.
Around 350 community volunteers will be assisting the government in disaster management. The Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services has enrolled 350 community volunteers i.e., Aapda Mitra and Aapda Sakhis to assist the public during disaster. “The department has already trained nearly 37 of them to provide support, aid in rescue operations during emergencies and disasters such as flood, cyclone, Tsunami etc. and the rest will be trained by December 2022, informed the director of Fire and Emergency services,” Nitin Raikar. The Goa government has also started 13 disaster alarming centres in all the talukas of Goa as part of its disaster management plan. There is a scope in the future and the Goa government will be appointing these Aapda Mitra and Aapda Sakhis in the department. He advised them to take training from the National Water Sports Institute where small courses are available, so that they can upgrade their knowledge.
