Army personnel during the construction of a bailey bridge at Chooralmala area as part of a rescue operation after a recent landslide triggered by heavy rainfall, in Wayanad district, on August 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA and Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke, who led disaster relief operations during the 2024 Wayanad landslide have been selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.
The Central government instituted th award to recognise and honour invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in the field of disaster management.
Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA), in the Institutional Category, and Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke, in the individual Category, have been selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026 for their excellent work in Disaster Management.
Individual category: Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke
During the 2024 Wayanad floods and landslips, Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke ,led Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. She coordinated with authorities and local leaders to ensure rapid evacuation, relief distribution, and restoration of essential services.
Lieutenant Col. Shelke directed multiple high-risk rescue missions under adverse weather conditions, saving hundreds of civilians. She supervised the swift construction of a 190-foot Bailey Bridge at Chooralmala, restoring vital connectivity to remote villages, and implemented innovative engineering solutions such as using a Komatsu PC210 excavator as a counterweight and building an improvised footbridge within four hours at night.
By mobilizing 150 tonnes of equipment, Lieutenant Colonel Shelke led the operations that benefited thousands through timely relief and recovery efforts. She also trained over 2,300 personnel in disaster response and humanitarian operations. She brings disaster risk reduction (DRR) into action through her engineering service.
Using Corps of Engineers skills, she enabled quick construction of bridges, access routes, and shelters in remote disaster-hit areas, supporting relief and recovery. Her work reflects practical leadership and the growing role of women in operational DRR.
Institutional category: Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA)
Established in 2005, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) has significantly strengthened disaster preparedness and response in Sikkim by deploying 1,185 trained Aapda Mitras as Disaster Management officials in three tiers — Disaster Management Assistants at village level, Disaster Management Supervisors at block headquarters, and Disaster Management Coordinators at district headquarters. It has led to participatory planning, capacity-building initiatives, and Panchayat-level committees which have enhanced resilience to disasters and climate risks across all six districts.
During critical events such as the 2016 Mantam landslide and the 2023 Teesta floods, SSDMA’s real-time coordination and trained first responders enabled the rescue of 2,563 people. SSDMA has institutionalized a proactive, community-centred disaster risk reduction approach through Aapda Mitra, with a strong focus on early warning, preparedness, and local capacity building. Creating a sustainable, scalable, and replicable model of community-centered disaster resilience, particularly relevant for other Himalayan and northeastern States.
Published – January 23, 2026 10:23 am IST
