Under a special project named ‘swayamsiddha’, women will be trained in evacuation, rescue, restoration and rehabilitation during natural calamities, especially cyclones, in Odisha’s Ganjam district, according to Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange.
Members of Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) in the age group of 18 to 35 of this cyclone-prone region will be roped in.
After facing Phailin, Hudhud and Titli cyclones in the past, Ganjam escaped the wrath of Fani. It has always faced cyclones in October. By that time, Ganjam will be well prepared through these trained women volunteers, a senior official said.
A detailed report for this project is almost ready. According to officials involved, training of WSHG members is expected to start from June this year.
Ganjam district has around 22,000 active WSHGs in its rural and urban areas. “Under this project selected members from each WSHG will undergo a special training by personnel of police, fire services, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and other key departments of the administration”, said Ganjam Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange. They will also be trained in basic rescue measures, first aid and proper documentation of losses. Through this training they will be ready to face floods, cyclones and earthquakes and help people of their locality.
The trained volunteers will be provided two pairs of uniform to be used during natural calamities. To keep them active and ready as peer leaders during evacuation, rehabilitation and restoration during natural calamities, they will be involved in different developmental schemes of the government like MGNREGA, housing projects for poor and distribution of food materials through PDS.
A control room of ‘swayamsiddha’ will operate at district headquarters Chatrapur to coordinate and manage these trained volunteers of WSHGs of Ganjam.
According to Mr. Kulange, the Kerala government used WSHGs successfully in rehabilitation and restoration work after the floods it faced last year. The WSHG movement has been quite successful in Ganjam district and penetrated to the grassroots. Taking this into account, the BJD had fielded 68- year-old WSHG leader Pramila Bisoi as its candidate in the Aska parliamentary constituency of the district.
