Mumbai: The team of 1,000 community volunteers will visit 74 vulnerable areas to impart disaster management lessons from next month. These volunteers, also known as 'Aapda Mitras' (first responders), will be divided into teams at ward levels, which will be helpful for communicating and alerting citizens during the monsoon, said a civic official.
Around 249 landslide-prone areas were examined by the Geological Survey of India last year. The BMC has identified 74 locations under the 'most vulnerable' category this year too. The civic body sends notices to the inhabitants of these places and tries to shift them to safer locations. However, many times people are not ready to leave their huts. So, the civic authorities started training residents as it would help in saving lives and timely evacuation. The first batch of these volunteers who have been trained in disaster management played an active role during the monsoon last year.
“They have been trained in basic search and rescue, community-based first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), controlling bleeding, basic fire safety, lifting and moving patients, rope rescue techniques, etc. So they can impart first responder training to people in landslide-prone areas and create awareness through street plays. We will conduct a one-day training program to brush up these volunteers in the last week of May," said a senior civic official.
BMC to conduct recce of most vulnerable spots
The BMC will also conduct a 'recce' of the most vulnerable spots to be familiar with that area so that in case of any incident in the monsoon, the rescue team can easily access the spot and start the operation. The recce will be carried out by BMC along with NDRF, Army and Navy personnel in May.
"We examine these areas, checked for the soil, dangerous trees, condition of houses, number of people residing, arrangement of shelter for them etc. Our team selects volunteers from the area and shares basic information about how to respond, what precautions should be taken, first-aid, types of injuries and treatment. Basically, we create awareness among them and train them for their own safety," the official said.
