Even as the District-Level Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) expresses satisfaction over the alertness of Kozhikode towards emergency situations in the wake of a recent drill organised by it, many of the ground-level Community Rescue Volunteers (CRVs) in the district are still ill-equipped to handle emergencies during calamities.
Squads formed at the panchayat level as first respondents to emergency situations now work with limited resources like a few ropes, reflector jackets, lifebelts and torches. Many of such units are expected to cover the most vulnerable areas in the district that are prone to landslips and floods.
When contacted, some of the local grama panchayat authorities said they had no funds to buy or maintain costly life-saving equipment like dinghies, machine cutters, scuba sets and basic patient care kits. According to them, the district administration has not taken any initiative to supply such emergency equipment as part of its disaster management plan. However, it had conducted a few training programmes and recruitment of volunteers, they added.
“Though the squads were formed with an aim to function as first respondents, they were found highly dependent on the support of local fire stations for operations. Even the fire stations lack equipment to meet the requirements of a large number of rescue teams in different villages,” said C.V. Bineesh, a community rescue volunteer from Vadakara. He pointed out that there should be separate rescue kits with all the basic accessories for each CRV unit to function independently and effectively.
A Fire and Rescue Services official from Perambra said there were initiatives on the part of local bodies and government offices to find out sponsors for supplying emergency kits for local rescue teams. “In some locations, it worked well. But it has to be given more attention as the district is bracing for monsoon-related challenges,” he pointed out.
According to Revenue department officials heading the CRV units, the sanctioning of special funds for the purpose would be possible if the heads of all the 70 grama panchayats were ready to raise the demand collectively. Since the majority of the panchayats were earlier ready to invest from their Plan funds, the district administration was not concerned about that part, they added.
