Aniruddha's Academy of Disaster Management

Aniruddha's Academy Of Disaster Management (AADM), is a charitable organization incorporated in April 2005 with 'Disaster Management' as its principal object. It is the culmination of Param Poojya Sadguru Shri Aniruddha Bapu's divine foresight and vision that has given concrete shape to the idea of having an academy of disaster management, that would impart basic training to the citizens of the country at large and specialized training to the would be trainers, on how to cope with all kind of disasters, both natural and man-made. The trained volunteers would, in turn, reach out amoung the masses across the lenght and breadth of the country.

Disaster Management, as an idea and concept took shape in the year 2001 under the auspices of Sadguru Shri Aniruddha Upasana Trust. A 14-day workshop organized from 14th February 2002 to 27th February 2002 marked a definite and successful beginning in that direction. On the occasion, highly qualified officers from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Mumbai Police, Mumbai Fire Brigade and institutes such as KEM Hospital, BYL Nair Hospital and IIT Mumbai delivered lectures on various aspects of possible disasters and disaster management plans. It was in early 2005, when the activity had gathered the requisite 'critical mass' that the need was felt to hive off this activity into a seperate organization, in order to get focus and attention that it deserved.

Currently, AADM's scope of operation covers conducting basic training courses, providing assistance to local and civic bodies during any unforeseen natural and man-made disasters and providing crowd control seva at various public functions. AADM has also undertaken projects such as Vermiculture and Pulse Polio Vaccination drives for the general welfare of society.

Below is a summary of the various activities undertaken by the Academy over the years.

1. Basic Training Course

The basic Training Course includes training Disaster Management Volunteers (DMVs) in the finer aspects of the first-aid with the objective of saving lives until proper medical assistance arrives. Apart from the first-aid techniques the training course also covers information on all possible kinds of disasters and ways to effectively respond to them. This includes natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, famines, drought, etc. and man-made disasters such as bomb blasts, communal riots etc., as also nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, which have come to pose a genuine and serious threat to the very survivl of mankind and civilization

The training course also includes pratical sessions that teach the participants various Rescue Methods, Cardio-Pulmonary Cerebral Resuscitation (CPCR techinques), Fire fighting etc. These training courses are offered free cost. The Academy has so far successfully trained more than forty-thousand citizens, many of whom become DMVs.

'The Textbook of Disaster Management' prepared by the Academy has proved to be of great help in training the average citizen on how to effectively face disaster situations. The basic aim of this disaster management course is to teach a person to save one's life first in order to be able to save other people's lives.

2. Natural Disasters

When Mumbai and in fact the entire state of Maharashtra was caught unawares in the grip of the floods caused by the torrential rains of 26th July 2005, the disaster management team of AADM reached out to several places within and outside Mumbai to assist the local administration and the police in the rescue operations.

The efforts put in by the DMVs of AADM during the rescue operations was greatly appreciated and was acknowledged in the form of an invitation to participate in the 'Mansoon Disaster Plan (2007)' launched by the municipal authorities of Mumbai. The heavy showers in July 2007 too led to floods in several areas of Mumbai. The AADM, adhering to its basic objective, rushed its DMVs to the sites where flooding had occured and helped regulate traffic and transport people to safety.

• Landslides like the one that occured at Saki Naka, Mumbai on 26th July 2005, are instance of disasters, that require trained human intervention. The DMVs palyed a major role in assisting the local authorities, fire brigade and police in extricating bodies that were trapped in the rubble of the landslide and also helpled in saving lives, under extremly challenging conditions.



• Being trained in handling incidents of fire, the DMVs extend help and first aid, as they did at Jogeshwari (a fire at the office of Fairdeal Corporation Ltd.) and Sakinaka (fire caused by short circuit at Hansa Ind. Estate) in Mumbai on 26th January, 2006 an d6th July, 2006, respectively.

3. Man-Made Diasaters

In the recent past, the city of Mumbai has been witnes to acts of terrorism by way of bomb basts, in which many an innocent life has been lost. The serial blasts in the suburban train compartments of the Western Railway on 11th July 2006, sent a wave of panic among the citizens. the DMVs promptly reached the various sites and assisted the authorities in rescuing people from the debris and transporting the injured as well as the dead bodies to nearby hospitals.

The DMVs also actively participated in the relief work following the bomb blasts in Mumbai at Ghatkopar on 02nd December, 2002 and at Mumbai Central on 06th December, 2002; they not only helped trasport victims to local hospitals but also helped their relatives to complete the registration formalities at the hospital.

4. Crowd Control during Festivals

Fairs and festivals at religious places attract crowds in large numbers and from regions far and wide. The DMVs help the police and local authorities in controlling and regulating the crowds queuing up for darshan, as also in the channels where large crowd movement takes place. In the year 2005, during the annual festival fair at Mandhardevi, Satara, a huge DMVs from the nearby centers (males as well as females) rushed to the disaster site immediately and commenced rescue operations.

DMVs carried the dead bodies to a safe place with the help of ropes and other specialised techniques. Female DMVs also actively helped staff in receiving and attending to the patients/dead bodies.

Apart from this, DMVs had also helped in managing the angry and panicking crowd around the hospital.

This seva was appreciated by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Vilasroa Deshmukh as well as the Dy. Chief Minister Shri R.R.Patil, who personally met the DMVs and appreciated the seva.

The DMVs of the AADM have invited on a regular basis to manage crowds of bhaktas at the annual festival of Jyotiba, at the Kumbh Mela and at the Mandhardevi fair for the last 3 years. AADM also offers, on a regular basis, seva at the Shree Siddhivinayak temple (Prabhadevi, Mumbai) on the day of 'Sankashta Chaturthi' and during the 'Navaratri festival' at the Mahalakshmi temple (Mahalakshmi, Mumbai).

Moreover, since past two years, AADM has been offering crowd control seva at the Mount Mary Fair organised annually at the Mount Mary Church, Bandra. At each of these venues, the Academy alsa sets up a well-equipped medical counter to take care of any medical emergencies.

The Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrated in Maharashtra has certain specific days for the immersion of idols. On these days the DMVs help the civic authorities and play a major role in the management of the massive getherings. On the request of the Fire Brigade, for the past two years DMVs of the Academy arte being posted in the immediate vicinity of at least 22 different immersion spots of Navi Mumbai in order to control & regulate the huge crowds that gether on the occasion of immersion.

5. Lord Ganesh Idols re-immersion seva

Lord Ganesh idols are usually made of Plaster of Paris and, therefore, take a long time to completely dissolve in water. Consequently, these idols are washed back to the shore, which is certainly not a pleasant sight to behold. The DMVs, alongwith the volunteers of its sister organisation Shree Aniruddha Upasana Foundation, then undertake the re-immersion of such idols in the deeper water with the help of boats. The beaches are also fully cleaned and spruced up with infrastructural support from the Municipal authorities by way of garbage vans, equipments, etc.

6. Vermiculture and Pulse Polio Vaccination drive
Vermiculture

Vermiculture means artificial cultivation of earthworms. Vermicompost is the excreta of earthworms which is considered as one of the most effective and environment friendly fertilizers, without any harmful side effects. Earthworms eat cow dung and other solid wastes like household garbage and give out vermicompost. Municipal waste and non-toxic solid and liquid waste generated by industies can also similarly be converted into vermicompost. Earthworms not only convert garbage into valuable manure but also keep the environment healthy.

The conversion of garbage by earthworms into compost and the multiplication of earthworms are simple processes and can be easily carried out even at one’s residence.

P. P. Aniruddha Bapu’s blessings and inspiration, the vermiculture project is currently being run successfully by the AADM.

The project was first started at the residence of volunteers, who created vermiculture bins from household items and with an initial ‘seed’ provided by the Academy. Efforts yielded large amount of vermicompost by feeding earthworms with day to day household garbage / waste.

After a specified duration, the entire vermicompost and vermiwash so generated is handed over by volunteers to the Academy. The vermicompost is also used for pre plantation activity carried out by Upasana Centers throughout the state of Maharashtra.

Till date, aprox. 15 tonnes of vermicompost has been distributed amongst needy farmers, absolutely free of cost.

AADM conducted a large scale project of Vermiculture at the Central Railway Workshop (Mumbai) using their canteen and garden waste. This project was hugely appreciated by the local civic bodies as well as by the corporate sector. The team which implemented this project now acts as a training team for setting up such projects on a large scale, as well as on a small scale (i.e. at the household level) and upon request, also offers consultancy to various housing societies, public institutions, the corporate sector, schools, colleges etc.

Basic aims and objectives of this project are :

1। Working towards a better environment by disposing of garbage and waste in a productive manner.

2. Production of vermicompost through vermiculture technology which can be put to effective use for :

• Tree plantation project


• Supply of the produce to drought prone areas and to needy farmers.

Pulse Polio Vaccination

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It attacks the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in matter of hours. It can strike at any age, but mainly affects children under the age of three. (Accounting for over 50% of all cases) There is no cure for polio; it can only be prevented through immunization. Various polio vaccines, administered in multiple doses, at monthly intervals almost always protect a child for life.

The polio virus generally spreads though contaminated water. As there is lack of awareness about the importance of hygiene in our country, polio tends to spread at a faster rate. Thus, to make children immune to Polio and to eradicate it completely from our city/country, the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika / Govt of India has, from time to time, undertaken Pulse Polio Vaccination drives, wherein every child below six years of age is administered polio vaccine every month for a specified period.

In May 2005, the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika asked AADM to provide volunteers for its vaccination programme. Since then, AADM had been regularly providing volunteers for this pulse polio vaccination seva.

This seva is carried out on a Sunday of every month (as decided by BMC). The vaccinations are provided by BMC, and a trained Doctor provides guidance to the volunteers about the usage of medicine and the necessary precaution to be taken while giving the vaccine the children. The DMVs provide seva at pulse polio booths, which are usually situated at railway platforms and at area having maximum crowd density; the idea being to cover the maximum number of children and to make every child free from polio. DMVs from Mumbai and also from areas like Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali and Navi Mumbai have been actively participating in the Pulse Polio Vaccination Drive.