Evacuation drills conducted for awareness on lightning cases
Prayagraj: Officials of the district fire department on Friday claimed to have carried out a series of mock and
evacuation drills
to create awareness in case of
lightning incidents
in the district. The awareness campaign was launched under
Lightning Safety Awareness
Week to focus on education, risk assessment, and mitigation strategies to reduce lightning-related mishaps in high-rise buildings and hospitals in city, and fields in rural areas.
The weeklong campaign will end on Sunday.Chief Fire Officer (Prayagraj) RK Pandey told TOI, "Under the lightning safety awareness campaign, teams of the fire department interacted with citizens in the city as well as farmers in rural pockets, and apprised them of the measures to be taken during lightning cases.
" He added, "The awareness campaign was organised at all fire stations of the district, including Civil Line, Naini, High Court, Meja, Bara, Koraon, Handia, Phulpur, Soraon, as well as Fire Units Police Station Jhunsi, Karchana, and Dhoomanganj."The CFO, meanwhile, said fire station officers held a series of chaupals among villagers, interacted with them, and apprised them of the preventive measures in case of lightning. Teams also interacted with farmers in Meja, Bara, Koraon, Handia, Phulpur, Soraon, and Karchana tehsils. In city areas, the residents of high-rise buildings were advised to install lightning conductors in the buildings, along with proper earthing for protection.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Haridwar temple ‘built by Pandavas' damaged in Mansa Devi landslide
Haridwar: A centuries-old Shiva temple in Haridwar was damaged on Monday after a massive landslide on Mansa Devi mountain after a night of incessant rain. The district administration said no one was injured in the incident, which occurred around 11am. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Residents believe the temple was built by the Pandavas during their journey to Badrinath. Locals said they would bear the cost of repairs, viewing the damage as a bad omen and hoping to prevent further misfortune. Municipal councillor Sumit Chaudhary told TOI, "People are petrified after the damage to the temple and the centuries-old Shivling inside. We have decided to rebuild it at our own expense to avoid aby untoward incidents. If the govt steps in to renovate, we won't oppose it, but we want to take the initiative. " Ujjwal Pandit, secretary of Shri Ganga Sabha, Haridwar, said, "Bhimgoda Kund and its temple is one of Haridwar's oldest holy sites. According to legend, the pond was formed when Bhim struck his knee on the ground here to bring water for Draupadi during the Pandavas' pilgrimage to the Himalayas." Bhimgoda Kund is located near Har Ki Pauri, close to the Mansa Devi mountain, part of the fragile Shivalik range where landslides are common during the monsoon.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Marathwada & Vidarbha farmers consider resowing kharif crops amid erratic monsoon rain
Pune: Farmers in Marathwada and Vidarbha's rain-fed agricultural areas are facing a dire situation, with erratic monsoon rain forcing them to consider resowing kharif crops just weeks after initial planting. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now With over 50% of the state's districts experiencing significant rainfall deficits during the crucial June sowing period, farmers fear financial losses because of potential crop failure. Achyut Patil, a farmer from Vyala village in Akola, told TOI: "Several districts in Vidarbha may witness large-scale resowing. At least 75% of the farmers in my village are facing this situation. I completed kharif sowing around June 12, based on the forecasts that the monsoon would intensify across Maharashtra. The farmers expected good rainfall to continue in Vidarbha during June, after receiving good rainfall in May. " But, the rainfall activity abruptly ceased after the farmers completed kharif sowing. "Though the rainfall activity has resumed recently, the seeds planted earlier have been damaged because of prolonged dry conditions and absence of supplementary irrigation. I face the prospect of resowing cotton, soybean, tur, urad and moong," Patil said. He said resowing inflicted significant financial losses on farmers. "We need around 25kg seed bags for each crop variety, with each costing Rs 3,000-3,500, depending on the crop. Since we've already bought and planted these seeds, the entire investment is now worthless. We also spent on tractor fuel and labour for the initial sowing. Now, we have to repurchase seeds and bear the complete loss of our first investment, which is a double expenditure. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now " Yavatmal farmer Anmol Raut said, "Numerous farmers in Digras tehsil, including in my village and on my farm, face resowing requirements. I sowed on June 13 after village elders confirmed monsoon's arrival, but rainfall stopped and only recently resumed, damaging the seeds completely." Raut said his per-acre financial loss stood at Rs 12,000. "And I had sown nearly 10 acres. Most farmers face similar circumstances. Some tried supplementary irrigation, but the limited water supply proved insufficient because of high temperatures. Although May saw good rainfall, the brief downpours led to runoff rather than groundwater recharge, creating water shortage for irrigation," he said. Deepak Patil, in-charge of the Agriculture Research Station at Badnapur in Jalna district, said: "When sowing is completed and followed by a rainfall gap, it severely affects pulse germination. In light to medium soils, those with lower clay content and reduced water retention capacity, germination rates decline significantly. Heavy soils with higher clay content retain moisture better, resulting in improved germination rates. " He said any resowing undertaken after July 7 would adversely impact yields. "But, if farmers conduct resowing operations now, particularly for pulses, the yield impact may remain minimal. Unfortunately, even now, Jalna district isn't receiving adequate rainfall for resowing operations. Successful sowing requires substantially higher rainfall both before and after planting than what we're currently experiencing," Patil said. Keshav Dhore, another farmer from Akola, said he planned to begin the resowing exercise after 3-4 days. "This has caused significant financial losses as we've had to repurchase seeds. Our earlier crop plantings of soybean and tur were completely destroyed due to the prolonged dry spell in Vidarbha that followed our initial sowing operations." According to IMD, 19 out of 36 districts in the state are grappling with rainfall deficits ranging from moderate to large during the crucial early monsoon period from June 1-25, with nearly 53% of the state's districts, largely in Vidarbha and to an extent in Marathwada, recording below-normal rainfall so far during the official monsoon season that commenced on June 1.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Rain floods several areas in Cuttack's CDA for hours
1 2 3 4 Bhubaneswar: A spell of rain on Wednesday left several areas in Cuttack's CDA submerged, disrupting life. Areas starting from Rotary Eye Hospital to sectors 6, 7 and 9 remained under knee-deep water for hours. Sector 6 was among the worst affected, with water entering several houses and many vehicles getting stranded. Residents struggled to move out even hours after the rain had stopped. "People were wading through flooded lanes, with schoolchildren and office-goers facing major inconvenience," said Jyoti Mohanty, a resident of Sector 6. Krushna Prasad Jena, a septuagenarian navigating a flooded street, said, "We have lived here for decades but never seen such a precarious situation. The condition is only getting worse." Stagnant water not only flowed over roads but also entered residential areas, damaging property and raising concerns over vector-borne diseases. Residents blamed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) for failure to maintain and upgrade the drainage network. "This has become a yearly nightmare. The drains are never cleaned on time, and we pay the price during monsoon. The entire area is submerged. Its unfortunate to witness such a situation," said Priyanka Das, a resident of Sector 7. Subrat Behera, a resident of Sector 9, said, "What sort of planned area is this if we can't even step out of our homes without fear of waterlogging?" Cuttack mayor Subhash Singh told TOI, "Unprecedented rainfall in a short time caused the waterlogging. Our teams have been on the ground since morning. We're working to identify and address key choke points in the drainage system." In another development, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Wednesday said there will be no compromise on the 'zero casualty' approach during natural disasters After chairing the state-level Natural Disaster Committee meeting, Majhi highlighted the state's vulnerability to natural calamities, particularly during the southwest monsoon from June to Oct. "While we cannot prevent natural disasters, we can certainly minimise their impact through effective management," he said. State govt announced plans to irrigate 1.5 million hectares of farmland over the next five years to combat potential drought conditions. The CM also directed the water resources department to maintain vigilant monitoring of vulnerable river embankments and effective water flow management. Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari announced the installation of three Doppler radars in Sambalpur, Balasore and Bhubaneswar to enhance weather monitoring capabilities. The state has also constructed 909 multipurpose cyclone/flood shelters across 25 disaster-prone districts. To address health concerns during the monsoon season, the CM stressed the importance of maintaining adequate medicine and antivenom stocks in health centres, along with ensuring clean drinking water through proper tube well maintenance.
