Valedictory program under the Upscaling of Aapada Mitra Scheme convened at the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Eco-Tourism, Chemchey

Namchi, 13th September (IPR): A valedictory program under the Upscaling of Aapada Mitra Scheme, was convened at the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Eco-Tourism, Chemchey, Namchi, today. Minister for Land Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Shri Kunga Nima Lepcha attended the event as the Chief Guest.
Present amongst others were Relief Commissioner cum Secretary (SSDMA/LR&DM) Shri Anil Raj Rai, Joint Secretary (Policy and Planning-NDMA) Shri Kunal Satyarthi, Additional Secretary (LR&DM) Smt. Parina Gurung, Director (LR&DM) Shri Prabhakar Rai, DC(Namchi) Shri Bharani Kumar, DC(Soreng) Shri Bhim Thatal. They were accompanied by ADCs and DPOs of various districts, staff of SSDMA, NDRF Police Personnels and Aapada Mitra volunteers.
This 12 days long training program was organised by Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority(SSDMA) in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA).
It maybe mentioned here that the ‘Aapada Mitra Scheme’ aims to provide community volunteers with the basic skills required for responding to their community’s immediate needs during and in the aftermath of a disaster. These trained volunteers will assist in saving lives using the basic techniques of disaster response, co-ordination and management.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Kunga Nima Lepcha congratulated the volunteers on their successful completion of the training and added that ‘Aapada Mitra’ aids in times of distress. As per the knowledge received during the training these volunteers can act as first responder to any kind of catastrophic occurrence. He, therefore, encouraged these volunteers to impart the skills acquired through this training so that one and all can help in an event of a crisis.
Further, the Minister also asserted in organising such programs in educational institutions involving the panchayats and other stakeholders in order to develop a disaster resilience society. He also spoke about the State Government’s efforts to mitigate the risk of occurrence of disasters in Sikkim. In this regards, he announced that Sikkim will host a national convention to discuss the cascading effects of disaster and other mitigation measures faced by the hilly region which will be participated by the various states of India.
Speaking during the program Shri Kunal Satyarthi in his address informed that Sikkim is one of the top performing states of India to implement as well as to complete the training of the volunteers under this scheme. He said that the training will not only help the volunteers in building life-saving skills, but also get an opportunity to play a crucial role in responding to and assisting in disaster-affected areas. Likely, the volunteers will also be provided with insurance coverage for up to 3 years in disaster response, he added. Additionally, he also talked about the NDMA programmes, schemes and other several initiatives taken up by the Government of India.
Secretary(LR&MDD) Shri Anil Raj Rai highlighted the programmes and activities under SSDMA in the state. He apprised that a total of 300 volunteers took part in the training with over 30 per cent of participants being female. Further, he said that the participants undertook various basic relief and rescue tasks in various disaster-simulated scenarios.
During the program, SSDMA also released a News Letter. The program also saw the distribution of the Emergency Responder Kit to the Aapada Mitra Volunteers by the Chief Guest. Moreover, the volunteers also exhibited their practical demonstration of the life-saving skills.