Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday inaugurated the state-of-the-art State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) which aims to use new technology effectively for disaster management. “Due to climate change, the nature, intensity and frequency of disasters are changing. Therefore, it is necessary to emphasise on 'mitigation' and immediate response after incidents. It is important to have a strong ‘command and communication system’ for disaster management, and this center will be useful for taking decisions quickly and providing quick response,” said Fadnavis. The new SEOC includes bezel-free video wall, high capacity audio visual conferencing, data servers, high-speed computers, satellite phone, ham radios, LED video walls and wireless sets, which can be used for timely response and coordination among all the systems during a disaster. Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (Geo-DSS) is also implementing a “change detection” process based on AI and machine learning. This process is based on satellite imagery and will make it easier to understand the situation at the disaster site in near real time, assess the damage and determine the direction of the relief work. The other features include a unified Geographic Information System (GIS)-based dashboard for early warning alerts, vulnerability mapping, change detection, threat monitoring, and response activation; dedicated Emergency Support Function (ESF) desks for NDRF, SDRF, police, fire, health, and key line departments. Notably, a mobile application called 'Disaster Assistant' has been made available to the general public, through which citizens can provide information through SOS alerts in times of disaster. This app will be a medium of two-way communication. The proposal for a fund of Rs 184 crore for the construction of a building for the State Institute of Disaster Management (SIDM) in Nagpur has been approved. The institute will provide disaster management training to all units in the state and will function as a research centre on various disaster-related topics. The Maharashtra Responsive Development Programme (MRDP) with the assistance of the World Bank is modernising the District Emergency Operations Centres (DEOC) in 34 districts (excluding Mumbai city and Mumbai suburbs) and three municipal corporations (Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Kolhapur and Ichalkaranji). This will include Integrated Emergency Management System (IEMS), Disaster Resilience Network and Audio Visual and Information Communication and Technology (ICT) components. It was informed that the DEOCs will be seamlessly connected with the State Emergency Operations Centre.
