India News | Drones May Replace Traditional 'dawandi' Announcements in Flood-prone Marathwada Villages
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. As the monsoon looms large over Marathwada region in central Maharashtra, the police plan to use drones for making emergency announcements in vulnerable riverside villages to safeguard their lives, officials said on Wednesday.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, May 21 (PTI) As the monsoon looms large over Marathwada region in central Maharashtra, the police plan to use drones for making emergency announcements in vulnerable riverside villages to safeguard their lives, officials said on Wednesday.
This approach aims to overcome the traditional challenges of reaching remote areas in the region during emergencies and ensure timely warnings for residents living along the riverside.
The Marathwada region has seen villages bearing the brunt of floods since 2005 in major rivers like Godavari, Purna, and Manjara.
The police department, which is a part of the district disaster management committees across the eight districts in the region – Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Beed, Latur, and Dharashiv – is now actively seeking to integrate drones into their disaster response toolkit.
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Nanded Superintendent of Police Abinash Kumar said that the plan to procure these drones through the district planning committee has already been submitted. "If cleared, such drones will be deployed in areas along the rivers," he said.
Divisional Commissioner Dilip Gawde told PTI that "sometimes it is tough and time-consuming to reach villages and alert people about floods or other disasters during the monsoon. That's why police have sought drones to help them make public announcements."
Another official explained that during floods, the police need to reach villages to make public announcements about the impending danger.
"In some villages, a 'dawandi' (special announcements by playing drums) is also given at times. However, sometimes it is tough and time-consuming to reach villages and alert people about floods or other disasters during the monsoon," the official said.
This logistical hurdle is precisely what the new drone initiative aims to address, and the proposed drones will be equipped with public address systems, allowing police to broadcast critical information and warnings from the sky, even in areas rendered inaccessible by rising waters or damaged infrastructure.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)