Prioritise rescue over recording videos during disasters: Yogi

Lucknow ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said his government was committed to making Uttar Pradesh a state fully prepared to deal with every disaster, where every citizen could live with the confidence that both the government and the people were ready to face any crisis.

Calling upon people to focus on rescue instead of making videos of incidents, Adityanath said people should not unnecessarily interfere with wild animals to avoid human-animal conflict.

Inaugurating the new headquarters of the Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), built at a cost of over ₹200 crore, the chief minister said disaster preparedness should become part of every citizen’s responsibility. He also launched SDMA’s website and inspected the exhibition and the new facility.

Expressing grief over the crocodile attack in Bahraich that claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy on July 16, he said, “Everyone is aware of crocodile-sensitive areas and also knows that crocodiles generally remain within a radius of four to five kilometres throughout their lives. Therefore, people should not unnecessarily interfere with wild animals.”

The chief minister also expressed concern over people recording videos instead of participating in rescue efforts during emergencies.

Highlighting the growing incidence of human-wildlife conflict, he said, “In the last two years, 80 leopards have been rescued in Bijnor. They are increasingly being found in sugarcane fields, and people have named them ‘Sugar Leopard’. If people are not aware, they may fall victim to such encounters.”

Explaining the behavioural differences between tigers and leopards, he said identifying hazardous areas and informing people about them could prevent major loss of life. He added that over 4,000 people in Uttar Pradesh had been affected by human-wildlife conflict, while around 5,000 had been affected by other natural disasters.

Expressing hope that the centre would instil confidence among citizens, Adityanath said, “Generally, we become active and express our condolences only after a disaster causes large-scale loss of life and property. However, prior alertness, preparedness and awareness can reduce such losses to the minimum level. There is a need to educate people about preventive measures through daily life, school curriculum and discussions within families.”

The chief minister also stressed the importance of awareness in preventing deaths caused by lightning. “By using technology, it is possible to predict one-and-a-half to two hours in advance which area is likely to be struck by lightning,” he said.

Referring to the recent deaths caused by lightning and adverse weather, Adityanath said 111 people had lost their lives within a single hour in Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Kaushambi, Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar and other districts.

Stressing the importance of trained first responders, the chief minister said the recruitment process for 45,000 home guards was underway and trained Aapda Mitras would be given priority. Home Guards would also mandatorily receive Aapda Mitra training.

“They are the first responders. The government provides them with good facilities, honorarium, cashless health coverage of ₹5 lakh, financial assistance of approximately ₹35-40 lakh to their family members in case of any incident or accident, and an additional assistance of ₹5 lakh from the Chief Minister Relief Fund,” he said.

He said disaster awareness should be integrated into schools and colleges so that students and teachers could respond effectively during emergencies. He also called for district-level conferences of school principals to spread awareness about disaster preparedness.

Referring to floods, lightning, excessive rainfall, fires and building collapses, the chief minister said Uttar Pradesh was the first state to classify human-wildlife conflict as a disaster and provide relief accordingly.

The chief minister directed the SDMA to collaborate with leading disaster management institutions through MoUs and expand training programmes to involve people from every section of society. He also emphasised greater public awareness through all media platforms.

He further called for increasing mock drills at the district, tehsil, police station, development block and urban local body levels. All 17 municipal corporations, he said, should function as SDMA sub-centres, while the Authority should also expand its reach to more than 200 Nagar Palika Parishads.

Adityanath said disaster management should increasingly leverage technology through satellite and remote sensing, AI-based risk mapping, predictive analytics-driven early warning systems, mobile-based citizen alerts, GIS-based decision-making, digital control rooms, and drone-assisted search and rescue operations.