About Shawrya

About Shourya

SKDRDP is a NGO promoted by Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Shri Manjunatha Swamy temple at Dharmasthala. SKDRDP is active in the state of Karnataka. It is providing financial inclusion, women and farmer empowerment services to five million families in the state. Having a large network among the sections of the people below poverty line SKDRDP has to face various emergency situations to help its stakeholders. Ranging from minor accidents to natural disasters which affects the stakeholders of SKDRDP, gets referred to the workers of SKDRDP. Karnataka state has been witnessing rainy season disasters since 2017. Unnatural floods, landslides, are becoming more and more common. Endowed with almost 250 kilometers of Western Ghats, the state is witnessing peculiar landslides in the adjoining areas of Western Ghats, which is badly affecting the vegetation and habitat in these areas. To provide emergency support to the affected areas and the population, SKDRDP decided to promote a volunteer team in each of the identified talukas in the state of Karnataka.

The Government of Karnataka has identified 55 sensitive talukas prone for natural disasters. SKDRDP is creating a team of 200 interested young adults called as “Shourya”, who will form the Shourya disaster relief team, in each taluka.

The ‘Shourya disaster relief team’ is a voluntary effort, inviting people belonging to mostly the Below Poverty Line category. Commitment and interest for doing voluntary service with special reference to disaster relief is considered as the basic qualification for selecting the volunteer. They must be able bodied, ready to do physical labour and interest in giving rapid response.

The Shourya team works in the following five areas.

  1. Disaster
  2. Forewarning the disaster
  3. Social
  4. Individual emergency
  5. Personality
  6. Social
  1. Disaster relief : The Shourya team keeps itself ready to provide Disaster relief during landslides, soil erosion, overflowing rivers, house collapse, shifting the people from disaster areas, emergency repair and road constructions, providing infrastructure, clearing the water ways, providing temporary camping facilities, providing food during emergency and cleaning the houses, schools, temples , after disaster strikes. For this purpose the Shourya team is trained by NDRF, Fire brigade and Police department. During disaster emergencies they closely associate with formal institutions for providing services.
  2. Forewarning the disaster possibilities : The Shourya team in a taluk consist of 200 volunteers coming from different villages    and hamlets. They areinformed by the formal government institutions of the impending possibility of the disasters. Immediately Shourya team gets activated to forewarn the people to move to safer zones. Necessary help will also  be provided by the team for taking necessary actions.
  3. Social service : The Shourya team engages itself in social activities of taluka like local festivals, fairs, krishi utsavas , by providing needy services.
  4. Individual emergency services : A directory of the Shourya team of the taluka is printed and kept ready with each member of the Shourya team. Different members of the Shourya team have different These expertise are used for providing individual emergency services. For instance problem of snakes being seen in houses is a common feature. The Shourya snake catcher will immediately come and catches the snake and leave it safely in the forest. Similarly swimming expert of Shourya team is called upon to provide emergency water tragedies including recovery of the dead body. Road accidents, snake bites, consumption of poisons are the common feature in which a Shourya team member would be called upon to offer services.
  5. Personality development : The Shourya team of each taluka meet up once in a month to share their experiences. Personality development sessions are held in these meetings through which the Shourya members learn to improve their personality. Most of the Shourya members are less educated coming from lower strata’s of the Personality development training changes their attitude towards lives.
  6. Social recognition : The Shourya programme gives great opportunity to the unknown young people to get recognized in the society for their services and their expertise. A directory book of all the members in the taluka along with the photo of the member is published and kept in different important places like Teheshildars office, police In times of emergencies the Shourya team members will be requested to provide services. Thus each member is recognized by the society.

Progress so far :

Currently 7,230 Shourya Volunteers are providing Shourya services in 55 talukas of Karnataka state. It is expected that this number will be go up 11,000 by the end of the current year. The team is active in Dakshina Kannada, Uttar Kannada, Chikmagalore, Udupi, Hassan, Bangalore Rural, Dharwad, Belgaum and Bagalkote district of Karnataka state.

Summary of services :

Sl.No

Subject

Numbers

1.

Implementing talukas

74

2.

Total number volunteers

9480

3.

Rapid response team

14

4.

Total disaster services

82788

5.

Total Social service

41072

6.

Total services provided

123860

7.

Man days used

619300

Training to Shourya volunteer :

Sl.No.

Subject

No. of programme

No. of volunteers trained

1.

Flood management training

68

7380

2.

Swimming expertise training

13

1456

3.

Fire rescue

117

13860

4.

Lifesaving skill training

43

6710

5.

Operation of equipment used for disaster management

36

4310

6.

Operating the boats

3

168

7.

Snake catching training

4

280

8.

Managing the COVID patients

86

3480

9.

Rapid action team training

7

130

10.

First aid training

40

3000

 

Total

417

40774

Community awareness programme :

Sl. No.

Subject

No. of programme

No. of public trained

1.

Lifesaving skills

768

13680

2.

Fire management

1428

16850

3.

Control of wild fires

240

3670

4.

Control of communicable diseases

2460

36700

5.

Managing the gas cylinder

2630

36800

6.

First aid

130

9750

 

Total

7656

117450

 Disaster relief works of Shourya Team :

 

Sl. No

Activity

Numbers

1.

Flood relief

5813

2.

Fire accidents

4374

3.

Landslides

318

4.

Gas cylinder burst

684

5.

Road accident response

18680

6.

Working with NDRF/ SDRF team

167

7.

Working with fire brigade team

818

8.

Working with police officials

217

9.

Blood donations

4487

10.

Outside district relief activities

184

11.

Cleaning the home

8670

12.

Disaster based cremation works of animals

3874

13.

Cleaning the brides and vented dams

877

14.

Removal of logs during floods

4862

15.

support to Electricity department

2178

16.

Wild animal control

341

17.

First aid

3746

18.

House repair

2687

19.

Public building repair

483

20.

Foot bridge construction

386

21.

Road repair

3687

22.

Drinking water well cleaning

1214

23.

Construction of toilets to the poor

186

24.

Snake protection

4168

25.

Taking sick people to hospitals

1268

26.

Cremating the dead

387

27.

Support to Covid care center

18

Social activity of Shourya team :

Sl. No

Activity

Numbers

1.

Tree planting

7,68,297

2.

Public places cleaning programmes

11,568

3.

Help to animals

1684

4.

Road side cleaning (De-weeding etc.,)

3647

5.

Providing drinking water and water facility to animals

2470

6.

Blood donation camps

186

7.

Support to vaccination programme during Covid time

2484

8.

Drinking water drought area

1860

9.

Support to common feeding centers

2187

10.

Participating in gram sabhas

3160

11.

Participating in Souhardha sabhas

2180

12.

Providing information and government schemes

2737

13.

Watershed activities

560

14.

Support to deaddiction camp

1187

15.

Training in schools

187

16.

Response to emergency aid

2180

17.

Celebration of national festivals

6180

18.

Helping the farmers in distress

1860

19.

Distribution of food kits

3870

  

Skill Training:

Volunteers who are members of the “Shaurya” disaster management unit are initially trained by the central government’s NDRF (National Emergency Response Force) to acquire expertise in disaster management. Gradually the State Government’s SDRF (State Emergency Response Force), Fire Brigade, will provide training through various departments like the Police Department, Health Department, Planet Guard, etc. This unit will have all arrangements to carry out disaster operations in cooperation with local district administration, taluk administration and police departments.

Objectives of Disaster Management Program:

* Disaster Service * Social Service * Personal Service. * Identification. * Personality development.

The disaster management program places great emphasis on disaster service. It is important to prioritise and work in solidarity when disasters occur locally. The following “Panchasutras” have been given to the units to promote organisational growth through self-motivated work such as responsiveness, cleanliness, environmental protection, nationalism, awareness raising, and healthcare. The aim is to provide assistance to those in need during difficult situations, engage in social service, gain recognition and develop one’s personality.

The Taluk Disaster Management Committee will be provided with necessary tools for disaster operations. Mainly 34 types of equipment including life jacket, life buoy, ladder, scaffold, fire extinguisher, safety helmet, chain saw, first aid kit, etc will be provided. It can be used by volunteers for operations in case of any calamity. These implements are stored at the Agricultural Machinery Center in the project area for timely availability.

A trained coordinator, volunteer will be given a membership certificate. Samavastaç will be given as a symbol of equality, discipline and unity.

  • Committee-wise, unit-wise monthly meetings will be held and training programs will be held to motivate them to be active.
  • We will create WhatsApp groups for each committee and unit to collect photos, videos, and reports of our daily service activities.
  • We will then use these materials to create blogs that will be shared on the Public Awareness Regional Department’s website and Facebook page. Our goal is to motivate others by showcasing the good work we are doing.
  • Points are allocated for each disaster and service activity. Unit wise reports will be received and graded by coordinators.
  • Individual medals and certificates will be awarded to the Coordinator/Volunteer/Unit/Committee who obtained the rank.
  • Health insurance benefits for coordinators/volunteers will be provided by the scheme at a special discount.
  • Directory along with separate manuals of taluk committees will be made and given to volunteers and local district administration.
  • Volunteers will be given honorarium for disaster and selective service activities carried out by the units.
  • Attempting to mitigate the risk of natural disaster impacts.
  • Formulate disaster mitigation strategies and assist in the recovery process.
  • Assisting in governmental and other preparedness activities to assist in disaster response.
  • Providing information to fire, rescue, health, etc.
  • Supporting evacuation operations as part of disaster relief operations.
  • Carrying out work in the recovery phase after a disaster to bring the affected area back to normal.
  • Discuss the severity of disasters with the concerned department and create appropriate public awareness.
  • Mobilising the team and necessary resources to respond to the risk.
  • By not allowing people to have any preconceived notions about disasters, to offer protection to others along with self-protection.
  • Making people aware of possible disaster forecasts and taking necessary action.
  • Attempting to provide basic facilities like availability of medical care, medical equipment, medical personnel, medicines, food.
  • Training the concerned public on various aspects of disaster management.
  • Implementation of various programs for community transformation.
  1. Flood relief operations.
  2. Fire emergency management.
  3. Landslide response operations.
  4. Gas cylinder leak response operations.
  5. Assistance in case of road accidents.
  6. Participation in NDRF/SDRF operations.
  7. Participation in fire prevention activities with officials.
  8. Participation in activities with police officials.
  9. Individual blood donation.
  10. Assisting in necessary cleanliness activities for houses affected by heavy rain Operation to clear dead person, animal in well, lake, river.
  11. Clearing operation of tree stumps stuck in Kindi Dam/Bridge.
  12. Clearing the trees lying on the road during the rainy season.
  13. Clearing the tree that fall on the power lines.
  14. Activity on Prevention of Wild Animal Menace.
  15. Providing fid aid.
  16. Fixing old houses in falling condition.
  17. Providing voluntary service and assistance to a poor family for repairs.
  18. Catching snakes and releasing it into the forest.
  19. Assisting in taking the sick to the hospital immediately.
  20. Undertaking the cremation of destitute/orphaned bodies.
  1. All types of cleaning programs
  2. Treatment of Cattle in Farms
  3. Clearing of bushes and thorn bushes on the road side
  4. Road repair and construction Shram Dona
  5. Planting activities
  6. Drinking water/fodder system for livestock
  7. Organising blood donation camp
  8. Aid in obtaining vaccines for epidemic control
  9. Volunteers of the unit to helped in times of trouble
  10. Supply of drinking water during drought
  11. Visiting Refugee Centres/Help Centers to comfort and engage in essential service work
  12. Participating in village meetings and imparting information about disaster management
  13. Participating in friendly meetings or other meetings of various departments
  14. Calling the officials of the department to the village and giving information about the departmental facilities
  15. Recognizing and honouring achievers in the village
  16. Help to provide facilities by departments
  17. Calling people’s representatives and government department officials to the village and drawing attention to problems
  18. Admitting an alcoholic to an abstinence camp
  19. Organization of disaster management information and demonstration programs by fire brigade in schools, colleges and general public
  20. Call the emergency helpline and respond to those in distress
  21. Preventing waterlogging in public areas
  22. Maintaining cleanliness in drinking water wells
  23. Department visits
  24. Burial of deceased animals
  25. Observance of special occasions
  26. Motivating farmers in distress
  27. Participating as a representative of the disaster management team in public events.
  28. Distribution of food grains and other kits to the victims with the help of donors
  29. Family visits, home visits and consoling of the elderly are being supported by the scheme.
  30. Labour for the construction of public buildings
  31. Construction/repair of toilet for poor families
Master and Captain Details:

The taluk committee has appointed a master and a captain to facilitate continuous communication among volunteers and strengthen the units. Prakash Dharmasthala has been appointed as the Master for the Belthangady Disaster Management Committee, with Santosh Belalu as the Captain. Srikanth Patavardhan has been selected as the Master for the Guruvayanakere Committee, with Satish Acharya Madanthyaru as the Captain. All appointments were made unanimously, and the tenure for each of them will be a maximum of three years.

Conclusion:

Many of us are eager to offer voluntary help when people and livestock are in distress. For the betterment of society, there are many individuals who wish to cooperate as much as possible to alleviate the suffering of those in need. However, there are instances where these individuals remain silent without getting a suitable opportunity. It is important to organize these individuals who are concerned about society and give them an organizational form to provide a platform to “arm ourselves to save ourselves and ours” through the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Gramabhivriddhi Yojana’s “Disaster Management Programme.”

Janajagruthi Vedike Regional Office Belthangady, Surendra Mansion Building, First floor, Near Syndicate Bank, Main Road, Belthangady – 574214  

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