"Although human subtlety makes a variety of inventions... it will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature, because in her inventions, nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous."
Whenever man has tried to supersede nature, disasters have happened. Today's world scenario proves that development is also harnessing the destructive minds resulting in such huge disasters, which become just impossible to handle without the aid of latest technologies. With terrorism on the rise, plate tectonics becoming unpredictable and floods getting out of control, it is time for India to devise a full-fledged disaster management system.
Can we forget the floods of Orissa & earthquake in Gujarat where it was impossible to reach to the people by roads? The effects of Tsunami wash away followed by devastating snowfall in Kashmir is still fresh in people's minds. That is where helicopters could have been a much faster and easier mode of procuring relief not only in form of distributing food packets but also providing emergency medical service.
Thus, our government and public service agencies should realize that helicopters are the most versatile machines in existence today, which can help handle such difficult situations with ease, and hence their presence in every disaster control team is inevitable.
Unfortunately, in India, commercial helicopters are realized to be only a luxurious mode of air transport for destinations otherwise normally unapproachable by air. Actually, helicopters are capable of doing a lot of public service from air medical services to law enforcement, traffic management, fire fighting, assisting in power transmission among various others. They are being extensively used in the developed countries to combat difficult situations & make life much easier & simpler for the public. Although there are more than 30 applications of helicopters in civil & commercial use, India right now can concentrate on few very essential public service requirements.
Emergency medical service (EMS)
Calamities do not come after identifying the time & place. The crowded roads & long distances add on to all the hindrances in transporting the patients from the point of accident to a hospital. Helicopters are the fastest and the safest mode to provide emergency medical services immediately at the place of accident and transport the patients to the hospitals. Where as a normal ambulance takes more time & can carry not more that two patients, a helicopter can carry six to eight patients in much less time. Air ambulance is a very common phenomenon in the west, which we should also acquire now. The bursting population and crammed roads should not play havoc with the safety of the Indian citizens.
Law Enforcement
The lawbreakers have become hi tech today. They commit a crime and escape . It becomes difficult to chase them through our crammed roads. Thus, the importance of the helicopter as a tool for the Law enforcement community is growing. During daylight, or at night with a high power searchlight, the helicopter can prove invaluable when searching for lost persons or for suspects at a crime scene. The use of even more sophisticated equipment such as the forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system is also a possibility. A helicopter easily accomplishes transporting needed ground units to areas where accessibility is limited.
Fire Fighting
Helicopters are very useful even in fire fighting. Airborne command and control at the scene of a large fire could insure that the right fire fighting assets are at the right place at the right time. Fire fighting agencies need many kinds of tools to respond to emergencies, and the helicopter can provide a fast and flexible tool to assist these agencies. Helicopter " water bombers" are capable of discharging thousands of liters over fires & save the forests.
Traffic Management
India being such a vast & diverse country with a huge population can actually use helicopters for establishing an efficient & fast management system between the rural & urban areas. This exercise would not only be time saving but also highly cost effective. When properly utilized, the helicopter has been proven across the world to be a highly cost effective means of increasing the efficiency of existing sources of the city's administration. With roads becoming overcrowded, it is important to start thinking of harnessing the third dimension in this century.
Multiple Use
If the intended use of a helicopter is defined before purchase, it can serve multiple purposes. It will clearly dictate the type of helicopter & onboard equipment. For maximum utilization, the primary & secondary missions have to be set out from over 30 known uses that the helicopter has been pressed into all over the world. They range from aerial application to search & rescue, electronic news gathering, package express , ranching, exploration, mineral prospecting among others.
For example, a helicopter used for policing can be smaller & require much less equipment than one for a dedicated Air Medical mission. Thus, if the primary mission is decided as law enforcement, a secondary mission might be emergency medical transport. Such decision will also gain support from the hospital community who might help pay for the onboard medical equipment. Once the intended uses & the level of onboard equipment is established, the weight and cost of the helicopter & the equipment needs to be compared with the budget. If both, the helicopter (weight wise) and the budget (cost wise) are strained, priorities must be established- i.e., for the primary and then the secondary missions.
Keeping in mind the missions, our government and public service agencies can fully utilize the services of a helicopter.
Accounts of lives saved by helicopters with emergency medical personnel on board are numerous. It is predicted that world helicopters used in these areas will more than double during the next decade. Thus, it is time for us Indians also to evaluate our agency needs and see if the state helicopter program can help increase our efficiency and effectiveness in serving the needs of our community.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/22244
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