GSM-based PA system helped 3.5 lakh people during flood in Kolhapur: Satej Patil

Based on GSM technology, the Public Address System (PAS) implemented in parts of the Kolhapur district has benefited 3.5 lakh people to shift themselves and take precautions during the flooding over the last few days.

Brainchild of Minister of State for Home and Information Technology Satej Patil, who is the Guardian Minister of Kolhapur, the citizens of the district have expressed satisfaction over the foresight shown by the minister.

Keeping the experience of the 2019 flooding in the district, the administration had recently installed the GSM-based Public Address System in 57 places in Shirol and Karvir tehsils.

The system has been funded from the annual plan of the District Planning Committee headed by Patil.

The system was activated during the flooding and heavy rainfall to address people and direct them to take precautions such as not venturing out of their homes, shifting to safer places if required.

The system was installed in 21 villages in Karavir including Ambewadi, Balinge, Bhuye, Chikhali, Hanmantwadi, Nigave and 36 villages including Aurwad, Akiwat, Kurundwad, Nrusinhwadi, Rajapur, Shirol and other Shirol tehsil. These villages face the risk of flooding during monsoon every year.

“The system has benefited 3.5 lakh as they received timely intimation about the potential risk of the flood. The villagers were informed about their shifting to safer places in advance and helped the administration in smooth transition of the villagers. Similarly, they were also informed about the precautions they require to take during heavy rainfall and waterlogging. The system is operated from the District Disaster Management Control Room or other offices of the district collectorates. Besides the low cost of its operation, the system runs on solar power and does not require electricity. It is an added advantage of the system as the power outage during natural disasters is a common phenomenon,” said Patil, who is also Minister of State for Home and Information Technology.

Meanwhile, Patil, who has been continuously monitoring the flood situation in Kolhapur over the last few days, informed that seven people have died in rain-related incidents in Western Maharashtra's Kolhapur district so far while more than 75,000 people have been shifted to safer places. As many as six teams of the NDRF and a column of the Army carried out rescue operations in the flood-hit areas, said Patil.

As the intensity of rains has reduced, the water level of the Panchganga river at the Rajaram weir near Kolhapur city further dipped to 53.10 feet at 9 pm on Saturday. The vehicular traffic on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway, however, remained closed as a stretch near Shiroli village in the district was underwater. Talking about the evacuation, Patil told reporters that 67,111 people from flood-affected areas chose to go to their relatives' places, while over 8,000 were shifted to government shelters.

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