State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has trained more than 10,000 people, including locals and police personnel, in disaster relief operations. The inspector general ( IG) of police, personnel and SDRF, Sanjay Gunjyal said that the SDRF has trained 2545 police personnel over the past three years on various aspects of disaster management, search and rescue operations. He said that these police personnel are deployed at the posts located in remote and mountainous areas known as prone to natural disasters. “Normally these police personnel act as the first responders in the event of any natural disaster and our objective is to enhance their skills so that our capacity to deal disaster improves further,’’ he said.
The instructors of SDRF imparted training to 897 police personnel in 2016. Similarly, 1141 and 507 police personnel were trained in skills of rescue and relief operations by SDRF in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Gunjyal further informed that apart from training policemen, the SDRF is providing training to local people in the mountainous districts. He said that women belonging to Mahila Mangal Dals are also being given training by SDRF. Gunjyal informed that that recently 260 local people had been provided training in Pithoragarh district and a similar training would soon be imparted in Chamoli district. He added that apart from highly trained personnel which have most modern equipments at their disposal, SDRF also has a canine squad. This squad at present has two highly trained sniffer dogs and more dogs are slated to join the squad.
To provide immediate relief by starting rescue operation in case of any disaster in Uttarakhand, a decision to set up a force consisting of six companies was taken on October 9, 2013.
It was decided that the SDRF would be set up in three stages.
While in the first stage two companies were drafted in the force one more company was added in the force in the second stage of which a platoon of ten- member female personnel was also a part.
Personnel on deputation from state police, armed police, PAC, IRB, Fire and wireless services were included in the force.