Chief Minister participates in the workshop organised by the State Disaster Authority Aapda Sakhi Yojana to be launched on the lines of Aapda Mitra Yojana CM Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the workshop on Dwadadevad2025: Chatmachantamak organised by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Authority at a hotel in nearby Dehradun on Saturday.
During this, CM Pushkar Singh announced the launch of ‘Aapda Sakhi Yojana “on the lines of’ Aapda Mitra Yojana.” With the launch of this scheme, women volunteers will be trained for disaster early warning, first aid, relief and rescue operations, psychological support etc. This scheme will prove to be helpful in the direction of women empowerment and will further strengthen and make effective the active participation of the society in disaster management.
The Chief Minister said that the impact of disaster can be reduced by working seriously on forecast. The state government is emphasising on adopting modern technologies and scientific measures. The state is setting up rapid response teams and identifying potential disaster risk areas through drone surveillance, GIS mapping and satellite monitoring. Better coordination has been established between the Disaster Management Department, NDRF, SDRF and the local administration in the state to reduce the damage of the disaster. The Chief Minister said that even during the Silkyara rescue operation, he himself had interacted with the workers trapped in the tunnel, which boosted their morale.
The Chief Minister asked the SDRF, NDRF and other military forces to establish continuous coordination and communication with the authorities for disaster management. He said that after identifying landslide, flood and other vulnerable areas, the deployment of JCBs, cranes and necessary equipment should be ensured. At the same time, sensitive and old bridges should be technically checked and storage should be ensured for bailey bridges and alternative arrangements as per the need. He gave all necessary directions for continuous monitoring of water level in the areas along the rivers, deployment of technical equipment and human resources, ensuring adequate supply of foodgrains, fuel, drinking water and life saving medicines in all the districts from now onwards. Chief Secretary Shri Anand Vardhan said that this workshop will strengthen and make effective the arrangements ahead of the upcoming monsoon.
Uttarakhand has to face many types of disasters. This year the Meteorological Department has predicted early arrival of monsoon and above normal. We have to reduce the impact of the disaster by making strong arrangements before the monsoon. Better use of resources during disaster and use of technological resources are bringing revolutionary changes in the field of disaster, which we have to use better. Member, National Disaster Management Authority, Shri Rajendra Singh said that the India Meteorological Department has predicted above normal rainfall for Uttarakhand in the upcoming monsoon. In such a situation, the period from June 15 to September is a crucial time for Uttarakhand from the point of view of disaster. The state of Uttarakhand is extremely vulnerable to floods, cloudbursts, landslides, earthquakes. Better forecasting, infrastructure, public awareness are very important to avoid these. He complimented the Government of Uttarakhand for the smooth conduct of Char Dham Yatra this year. The management of Char Dham Yatra is very good. He said the N. D. M. A. has sanctioned Rs. 140 crore to Uttarakhand for landslide protection. 40 crore has been allocated to Uttarakhand for 190 sensitive lakes by N.D.M.A.
He said that Uttarakhand’s preparations for forest fires are very good this year. Uttarakhand has been sanctioned a scheme of about 16 crore rupees for forest fire. Uttarakhand will also be given funds as per requirement for the earthquake. The N.D .M.A has made guidelines for disasters across the country, which has to be communicated to the district level. Vice Chairman, Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Advisory Committee, Shri Vinay Rohella said that due to the efforts of the State Government, the losses during the disaster have been minimised. “We have achieved success in the Silkyara rescue operation under the leadership of Chief Minister Dhami. Even during the floods in Rudrapur, the Chief Minister was at ground zero. He said that even during the disaster in Ghansali, Chief Minister Dhami directly reached out to the disaster-affected people, which boosted the morale of the affected people.
The Chief Minister said that efficient disaster management has led the state towards becoming a developed state. Secretary, Disaster, Vinod Kumar Suman informed that this workshop is being held to further strengthen the pre-monsoon preparedness. The workshop will cover various topics such as weather forecasting, flood forecasting, monitoring and dissemination of EWS, landslide early warning system, requirement of geophysics for landslide risk reduction, resource and operational preparedness, glacier monitoring, prevention of monsoon diseases, landslides on roads and best practices. Which will benefit our state in the coming time. Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, Secretary Shailesh Bagauli, Principal Conservator of Forests Dhananjay Mohan and heads of various departments and experts were present on the occasion. Department of Information and Public Relations