These citizens will be eyes and ears of city when disaster strikes

Under Aapda Mitra/Sakhi training programme, BMC and NDRF are training 1,000 citizens in community level disaster management

Mumbai: Akshay Jadhav, 24, never thought he will be on the frontlines, assisting and supporting the Mumbai fire brigade and the police in the level two fire that broke out in Kurar village, Malad East on February 13. However, he did because Jadhav is part of 522 candidates trained by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Disaster Management team under the Aapda Mitra / Sakhi Programme.

Mumbai, India - February 25, 2023: Trainees being trained by the NDRF team under the Aapda Mitra program which include, rope rescue, flood rescue, and various other rescue operation skills, at Andheri Sports Complex, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, Feb 25, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The programme, which is being run by BMC along with officials of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), aims to train 1,000 citizens in disaster prevention, mitigation and management.

“When I saw the fire in my area, I knew what I had to do. I first called the emergency helplines and then assisted the police in cordoning off the area and rescuing people,” said Jadhav, who lives five minutes away from the place of fire incident.

Since the fire broke out in an informal settlement on a forest land, it made firefighting operations difficult. As Jadhav knew the locality, he helped the fire brigade officials reach quickly and assisted them in removing gas cylinders to prevent further cylinder blasts.

“Had I not taken this training, I would have ended up being an obstacle instead of assisting them. Because of this training, I could be a first responder and knew what I had to do instead of just being an onlooker,” he added.

The Aapda Mitra / Sakhi training programme is a national level programme being run in 350 disaster prone districts in India. BMC’s training programme started on January 9 and will continue till March 31. It aims at community-based risk reduction and saving lives in the golden hour of an accident or disaster.

The programme is headed and run by a couple from BMC, Rashmee Lokhande, chief officer for Disaster Management, and Rajendra Lokhande, training coordinator for the Aapda Mitra/Sakhi programme.

Under the programme, BMC will train 1,000 citizens between the age group of 18-40. While BMC has been running different programmes year-round for disaster management, it is for the first time that a detailed 12-day programme is being taken up. Trainees are also given a kit under this programme, which includes 15 items like lifesaving jacket, first aid kit, ruck sack, gum boots, rain suit, helmet, etc.

“Mumbai is a disaster-prone city. In any disaster, first responders are most important people since government agencies may take time to reach the site of disaster,” said Dr Sanjeev Kumar, additional municipal commissioner. “We are training people from different communities, especially from risk prone area, to be the first responders. This helps in confidence building as well better response to any disaster.”

Rashmee said, “The training is already seeing results. Three Aapda Mitras have already helped people in different emergencies. One assisted a man with bleeding injury on head and was able to provide first aid till an ambulance arrived, while the other assisted when a person collapsed in a public place. The response to this programme is amazing and we will have better disaster prevention in the city with 1,000 citizens ready to help.”

Mahesh Narvekar, director for disaster management, BMC, said, “The programme is not just for disaster management but for disaster prevention and mitigation. We want them to be our eyes and ears to the city for disaster prevention. Mumbai citizens are quick in response but lack quality response. Through this programme, we want to ensure there is quality response to any disaster.”

Narverkar added that it will continue beyond the central government’s programme of training 1,000 candidates in Mumbai. “BMC will also be conducting refresher training quarterly for these 1,000 candidates.” he added.

At the City Institute of Disaster Management, where BMC and NDRF are jointly running the programme, HT spent a day with a batch on their last day of their training on Saturday. Thirty-year-old Yogita Patil, a home-maker, said she heard about this programme from a relative. “I am confident to save lives of her family members and neighbours in case if they ever need a CPR or face any disaster. I never thought the course will be so insightful. This is the first time that we have seen an actual on-field training and not just theoretical knowledge.”

Vanshita Shinde, a BSc. Biotech student, who was part of the training, said such an exercise should be compulsorily added as part of the education system. “Not just as textbook chapters, but also as the practical sessions.”

Sarang Kurve, assistant commandant, NDRF, who is heading the NDRF training in Mumbai said, “In these training, women are also opting for training in almost equal numbers as men. The idea behind this programme is to reduce loss of life and property and make sure aid reaches in the golden hour of any disaster.”

From security guards, to business owners to college students, the programme has varied type of candidates in every batch. In these 12 days programme by BMC, candidates are trained comprehensively on various types of disaster management like food poisoning, stampede, floods, terrorism, radiological and nuclear emergencies, rope rescue, etc. Case studies for training are based on past disasters in the city for better dealing with events.

Taking feedback from previous batches, BMC recently also included mental health training to deal with trauma, PTSD, etc.

Honey Palvankar, 36-year-old professional in naturopathy, said that as a child, he had faced floods and earthquake in Gujarat and had seen how NDRF had reached them for help. This inspired him to take up this course in disaster management. “The CPR and other training by the doctors from Sion hospital is detailed. The training by NDRF also has a very practical approach which has given me confidence to be a first responder in case of any disaster.” said Palvankar.