Agartala: Even though Tripura is vulnerable to natural disasters like cyclonic storms and earthquakes, drowning and man-animal conflict kill more people than natural disasters, Tripura State Programme Officer for the Disaster Management Authority, Sarat Kumar Das, said.
According to Das, due to Tripura’s geographical proximity with the Bay of Bengal, a cyclone is a common natural phenomenon here and impacts Tripura when such storms make landfall in the peripheral areas.
But such disasters have been found to be less virulent for human life so far. Instead, more loss of lives is reported due to incidents like drowning, lightning and human-animal conflict.
“Twenty-two people died due to drowning in the current year. Such cases are rampant and reports are coming from scattered locations. When investigated properly, it was found that the lower current of Tripura rivers is extremely high. When you look at the river without stepping inside it, you can feel that the river is calm and composed but that is not the case inside. The flow of water in the lower side is higher in speed and it could be a death trap for a person who does not know how to swim,” Das explained.
He also said that if someone drowned in Tripura rivers chances of the victim’s survival were very low. “Our volunteers dive inside the river just to retrieve the mortal remains,” said Das.
Describing lightning as another life-taking disaster, Das said, “Lightning has also caused several deaths. This year alone the death toll for this particular reason has risen to five. In order to combat this situation, a device has been designed that secures a substantial radius of area from lightning. This device is very easy to develop and install. Our volunteers in various districts are working to spread more awareness on this.”
On the human-animal conflict, Das said, every year people living close to the forest areas bear heavy losses because of the depredation of wild animals. “Deaths are also reported but more than this people face financial losses,” he added.
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Replying to a query, Das said, the total number of people who died due to different kinds of disasters in the present year has already surpassed the mark of 40. “The Kumarghat Rath Yatra tragedy caused a spike in the number of deaths,” he added.
When asked about disaster management and mitigation programs, Das said, “A total of 1,000 Apada Mitra volunteers are there in all the districts of the state. Apart from that, we have trained staff in all the TSR battalions and adequate equipment is also there with them. We have a plan to train 10,000 Yuva Apada Mitra volunteers with the help of Nehru Yuva Kendra, National Service Scheme, National Cadet Corps and Bharat Scouts and Guides.”
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