The pilot project of Mukhyamantri Bal Taranveer Karyakram was launched for three districts namely Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Prayagraj and its main objective is to reduce the loss of lives due to drowning in the state. In this direction, a one-day divisional level workshop was organised at Trimbakeshwar Multipurpose Hall of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham (corridor) under the joint aegis of the Relief Commissioner’s Office and District Disaster Management Authority here on Tuesday. On the occasion, demonstration and presentation on first aid, search and rescue in case of drowning and boat accident was given by NDRF personnel. Aditi Umrao gave information on the work and relief standards being done by the state government to reduce the loss of life due to boat accidents and drowning. To increase awareness regarding drowning prevention, a demonstration was conducted through folk arts (street drama and magic). At the end of the workshop, participants took an oath to prevent drowning.
After the workshop, a mock drill for drowning prevention was organised at Lalita Ghat where three scenarios were displayed. In the first scenario, a person was shown drowning while bathing in deep water, second one drowning due to foot slipping from the pier and third scenario of boat capsizing. The said mock drill was jointly organised by NDRF, SDRF, 36 PAC and Water Police. A temporary medical camp was set up.
Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Sanjeev Kumar Jindal was the chief guest of the programme while Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Rajendra Singh and Secretary and Relief Commissioner, Revenue Department, UP Govt, GS Naveen Kumar were guests of honour. The workshop was also attended by District Magistrate (DM) S Rajalingam, DIG of 11th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Manoj Kumar Sharma, ADM (Finance/ Revenue) Vandita Srivastava, ADM (R/F) Ghazipur Arun Kumar Singh, Project Director, Relief Commissioner’s Office Aditi Umrao, and officers of SDRF, 36th Battalion PAC, Water Police, district administration and police and representatives of boatmen, divers, ghat management, Aapda Mitras, volunteers of Civil Defence and others. Vandita Srivastava threw light on types of disasters, scenarios of different types of disasters, nature of Bal Taranveer programme and the efforts to reduce deaths due to drowning in the district.
In the first phase of this pilot project, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and PAC personnel were given swimming training to become master trainers by Patna-based National Inland Navigation Institute (NINI). After being fully trained, these master trainers will provide swimming training to the Aapda Mitras and ghat workers of the three districts, so that the incidents of drowning in future can be reduced. The workshop was started by lighting the lamp. While addressing the gathering, the guests present stressed on the success of the scheme and its reduction in future.