THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The IT sector provided vital co-ordination to one of the massive relief operations the state has witnessed in recent memory. The work of IT institutions and groups of professionals from across the globe provided critical communication back-up to the operations, which helped in moving flood victims to safer places.
The plans were made based on the decision of state Chief Secretary Tom Jose and Revenue Additional Chief Secretary PH Kurien to tap the entire potential of IT to provide critical communication support to save lives and provide emergency relief to the evacuated.
The entire IT professionals remained online all the time. The IT community, including the start-ups, volunteered to give critical support to the operation, especially in sorting out the messages that flooded the communication channels, including the social media, pledging financial and material aid to help the flood-hit victims.The major task was co-ordination of communication as messages and inputs kept pouring into the emergency control rooms, call centres and media.
The online call centres were run by the IT professionals, prioritising and passing information to the rescuers to save and evacuate the affected communities. The software developed by some of the start-ups in the state was also utilised for this.Services of the call centres were tapped to confirm the authenticity of the messages, a process that helped detect fake ones.
The sorting-out method was also applied in spotting aid pledges and co-ordinating with the collection centres across the globe, which helped in transporting the relief materials in required quantities to the camps where people were moved.
Collection points to mobilise relief materials were set up in all IT parks in the state. The IT professionals also volunteered in collection centres and relief camps across the state.