The Yogi government has decided to purchase 804 inflatable boats,  at the cost of Rs 80.40 crores, for 22 flood-prone districts which will help 2,412 villages located in the basins of the Ghaghra-Saryu, Rapti and Sharda rivers.

Relief Commissioner GS Naveen said that during the intensive mapping of the entire state, carried out by the state government through satellite regarding floods and water logging, it was found that 2,412 villages situated in the basin of Ghaghra-Saryu, Rapti and Sharda rivers in the state are prominently flood-prone.

He added that areas where floods had been a recurring issue in the last seven to ten years, were specifically marked during the mapping exercise. “In the mapping, it was found necessary to prepare these villages, which are spread over an area of 1,500 kilometres, in advance to deal with floods and minimise loss of lives,” he said.

He further mentioned that the need for one boat between approximately three villages was felt for this purpose, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was informed about it.

Rahat Emergency Project director Aditi Umrao said that the process of purchasing boats would be completed in two phases. In the first phase, 400 boats would be purchased for six districts including Ballia, Balrampur, Deoria, Gonda, Gorakhpur and Bhadohi, while in the second, 404 boats would be purchased for the remaining 16 districts.

“On the instructions of the chief minister, an SDRF officer will be nominated as a technical member in the committee for the purchase of boats. The specifications for purchasing these boats will be obtained from the National Disaster Management Authority, the Coast Guard and the NDRF,” she said.

Moreover, the responsibility for the maintenance of these boats will be given to the respective Lekhpal, who will be provided with a tin box, wherein he will keep all the material safe after the rescue. This box will be kept in Panchayat Bhawan and other local government buildings. AMC will be responsible for its maintenance, she said.

She further said that the local people will be given training to operate these boats to provide immediate relief during floods. Often, locals depend on the SDRF and NDRF teams for flood relief, and in such a situation, a lot of damage is done before the team reaches these areas.

“Keeping this in mind, it has been decided to provide training to local people. They will be trained by the National Disaster Management Authority, National Disaster Response Force, and the Coast Guard to operate the boats. These ‘aapda mitras’ will be given a daily honorarium as per the mandate of the Labour department for operating the boats during floods,” she said.