THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The volunteering spirit and proactiveness of the youth played a major role in helping the state tackle tough times such as the recurring floods and Ockhi cyclone. Currently, hundreds of volunteers comprising students, techies and people from different walks of life are helping the authorities to overcome the pandemic. Additionally, a team consisting of more than 200 volunteers have already been formed to carry out relief and rescue, if another flood-like situation occurs in the city.
“A meeting was convened with the Inter-Agency Group (IAG) under the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority. Preparations are already being done at various levels and resources are mobilized in case the need arises. Currently, the situation is under control but it might worsen if the rain continues,” said Bharath Govind, convenor of IAG, Thiruvananthapuram. “Last year, we had opened a relief material hub for the flood-affected districts. Volunteers were present in every stage of the activity -- from bringing relief material, collecting, segregating and packaging to dispatching. If a similar situation arises, we plan to follow the same method.
We have collected details of the requirements from the IAG members,” he said. More than 500 dedicated volunteers are currently working under the district administration and the district medical office, collecting data on Covid-19 patients, those in home quarantine, first-line Covid treatment centres and tracing route maps of positive patients.
The process is being guided by inter-Agency Group (IAG) under the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority
More than 500 dedicated volunteers are currently working under the district administration and the district medical office