Yogi Adityanath Inaugurates ₹200-Crore UP Disaster Management HQ, Calls For Statewide Preparedness

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inaugurated the new headquarters building of the Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The building has been constructed at a cost of more than Rs 200 crore. The Chief Minister also launched the Authority's website and inspected the exhibition set up at the premises as well as the building, while obtaining detailed information about its functioning.

The Chief Minister said, "Our resolve is to make Uttar Pradesh a state that is fully prepared to deal with every disaster, where every citizen can live with the confidence that both the government and the citizen are ready to face any crisis. This should become a part of every citizen's and the nation's duty."

The CM expressed hope that this centre would instill a new sense of confidence in the mind of every citizen.

The CM observed, "Generally, we become active and express our condolences only after a disaster causes large-scale loss of life and property. However, prior alertness, preparedness and awareness towards disasters can reduce such losses to the minimum level. There is a need to educate people about preventive measures through daily life, school curriculum and discussions within families."

Recalling his childhood, the CM remarked, "At that time, schools and families used to discuss the precautions that should be taken during fire, earthquakes and floods because abnormal behaviour during such incidents causes greater damage. But if awareness is made a part of daily life, the loss of life and property can be controlled."

CM Yogi described the tendency to ignore incidents as dangerous. Stressing the importance of training, he said, "The recruitment process for 45,000 Home Guards is being completed. Those Aapda Mitras who have received training will be given priority in this recruitment. Home Guards will also be mandatorily provided Aapda Mitra training. They are the first responders. The government provides them with good facilities, honorarium, cashless health coverage of Rs 5 lakh, financial assistance of approximately Rs 35-40 lakh to their family members in case of any incident or accident, and an additional assistance of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister Relief Fund."

The CM expressed hope that these facilities should not become a burden but should instead inspire better service to society.

CM Yogi said, "Even an ordinary person can provide relief during disasters through awareness. Even when there is no disaster, if, along with their own training, students and teachers in schools and colleges are made aware of disaster precautions, and conferences of principals are organized at the district level during holidays to educate them about such precautions, it will be a great service to the nation."

The CM also spoke about natural and physical disasters such as floods, lightning, excessive rainfall, fire incidents and building collapses. He said, "Uttar Pradesh is the first state to include human-wildlife conflict in the category of disasters and provide relief accordingly."

Expressing grief over the incident that occurred in Bahraich two days ago, he remarked, "A 12-year-old child was swallowed by a crocodile. Everyone is aware of crocodile-sensitive areas and also knows that crocodiles generally remain within a radius of four to five kilometres throughout their lives. Therefore, people should not unnecessarily interfere with wild animals."

The CM expressed concern that during such incidents people continue making videos instead of focusing on rescue efforts.

The CM noted, "In the last two years, 80 leopards have been rescued in Bijnor. They are increasingly being found in sugarcane fields, and people have named them 'Sugar Leopard'. If people are not aware, they may fall victim to such encounters."

Explaining the difference in the behaviour of tigers and leopards, the CM said, "If hazardous areas are identified and people are informed about them, major loss of life can be prevented." He added that more than 4,000 people in Uttar Pradesh have been affected by human-wildlife conflict, while 5,000 people have been affected by other natural disasters.

The Chief Minister said, "Lives can also be saved during lightning incidents." Stressing the importance of technology, he remarked, "By using technology, it is possible to predict one-and-a-half to two hours in advance which area is likely to be struck by lightning."

He added, "Forty years ago, such technology did not exist, yet people were advised that if clouds appeared close by and looked dense and of a distinct colour, precautions should be taken. In such situations, one should neither stand in open places nor under trees, nor carry iron or any metallic objects. Instead, one should take shelter inside a permanent building."

The pain caused by the deaths of 111 people in Uttar Pradesh within a single hour in recent days was also reflected in the CM's address. He noted that a total of 111 people had lost their lives in Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar and other districts.

Expressing concern and displeasure during the Authority's meeting, the CM had observed, "These deaths could have been minimised." He had also stressed the need to make the Early Warning System more effective. Exactly three days after that meeting, the NDRF/FDRF and the National/State Disaster Management Authorities jointly advanced that process through coordination.

The Chief Minister also recounted the incident of sudden heavy rainfall at night in the Shivalik Hills in Saharanpur. He said, "At that time, thousands of people were present at the Shakumbhari Temple for the Jagran and Bhandara programme. Within moments, the water level in the rivers rose rapidly by four to five feet. However, before that happened, an alert had already been issued and the administration shifted everyone to safe locations. Had these people not been evacuated, hundreds of lives could have

been lost. But because of the Early Warning System, mobile phones started ringing with alerts, everyone became aware, and major loss of life and property was prevented."

CM Yogi said, "The Authority should establish coordination and sign MoUs with leading institutions associated with disaster management. People from every section of society should be connected with training programmes. Awareness should also be spread through all media platforms, informing people about precautions and alertness."

The CM also stressed increasing mock drills at the district, tehsil, police station, development block and urban local body levels. He stated, "All 17 Municipal Corporations should function as sub-centres of the SDMA for expanding disaster management programmes. The Authority should also reach more than 200 Nagar Palika Parishads with populations of around five lakh."

The CM asserted that in the coming years, technology should be further integrated to make Day-One Disaster Management more effective through satellite and remote sensing monitoring, AI-based risk mapping, predictive analytics-based Early Warning Systems, mobile-based citizen alert systems, GIS-based decision-making and digital control rooms, and drone-based search and rescue operations.

On this occasion, Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna, Minister of State for Revenue Surendra Diler, Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, Sarojini Nagar MLA Rajeshwar Singh, Authority Vice Chairman Lieutenant General Yogendra Dimri, Principal Secretary (Revenue) Aparna U, Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna and others were present.

Published on: Monday, July 20, 2026, 04:28 PM IST