The country’s premier disaster response force National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has rescued 1,837 and evacuated 9,684 human lives, 40 live stocks and retrieved 19 dead bodies in numerous operations across the country this year. The NDRF will soon have four more battalions totalling about 4,000 personnel for better reaction and effective reach during calamities.
The force currently has 12 battalions with 1,149 personnel each and they have been located in various states across the country. This has been revealed by NDRF Director General (DG) Sanjay Kumar at his annual Press conference on Friday.
Kumar said that so far NDRF has rescued 1,12,243 and evacuated 4,51,161 human lives and retrieved 2,781 dead bodies in numerous operations across the country and beyond boundaries
Also, NDRF to have four more battalions for better reaction and effective reach during calamities. Kumar said the decision to raise and base the new battalions in four States —- Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh — is under consideration of the Government and final modalities are being worked out.
“The Government wants to induct these new battalions in the NDRF as early as possible. However, the sanctioned time for this is till 2019,” he said. This will help the force to proactive deployments during impending disasters. The entire manpower and battalions of the NDRF are seconded by the paramilitary forces like CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF, SSB and Assam Rifles and the new contingents are expected to come from these organisations.
Responding to a question on the 12-battalion strong force getting an independent air wing, the DG said the
proposal is in the “preliminary stages and all aspects are being looked into”.
The force has also got trained over 530 of its personnel in slithering and commando skills by the elite NSG, a task where rescuers come down on the ground from a low hovering helicopter and directly reach a calamity-hit area. The force will be also host the annual Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) disaster management exercise in the national capital region in October this year, with the participation of the seven member countries.
The NDRF is the national force mandated to respond to disasters in any part of the country. It has 12 battalions with 1,149 personnel each and they have been located in various States across the country. Each of its battalions have domain experts and teams of engineers, paramedics, technicians, electricians and canine handlers along with trained rescuers.