Every disaster a lesson, says NDRF DG

Update: 2025-01-19 07:37 IST
Every disaster a lesson, says NDRF DG
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Kondapavuluru (Krishna district) : Every disaster is a learning experience for National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), said director general of NDRF Piyush Anand.

He was addressing an interaction session with the media at the NDRF headquarters here on Saturday in the wake of the 20th NDRF Raising Day on Sunday and also in connection with the visit of Union home minister Amit Shah to formally inaugurate the buildings of the NDRF and the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM-Southern Campus) here on Sunday.

Referring to the Wayanad landslide disaster last year, Piyush Anand said that the NDRF has no sniffer dogs to find out the living or dead victims under the rubble. Then the NDRF started raising the dog squad to overcome the problem.

Now each battalion of NDRF has 18 specialised Search and Rescue (SAR) teams which are self-contained and have specialists like engineers, technicians, electricians, dog squads and medical/para-medical personnel.

Inspector general Narendra Singh Bondela and Rajendra Rathod elaborated on the activities of NDRF with power-point presentations. They said the NDRF has been mandated to attend all natural and man-made disasters in the country except fires.

This includes Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR) during earthquakes, building collapse and landslides; Flood Water Rescue (FWR) including drowning, boat capsize; Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Contingencies, Mountain and Rope Rescue, Medical First Response (MFR) and Animal Rescue.

Forest fire is a new mandate assigned to the Force in 2022 with the formation of three teams on a pilot basis and placed one each in Uttarakhand, Assam and Andhra Pradesh.

They recalled that the NDRF has a rich experience of international response to disasters having responded to Japan Triple Disaster in 2011, Nepal Earthquake in 2015 and ”OP Dost” during Turkiye earthquake in 2023.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Union home ministry on Saturday said in order to encourage a zero-casualty approach in disaster management, home minister Shah will on Sunday interact with top officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Vijayawada.

Shah will be the chief guest at the 20th Foundation Day celebrations of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) here. On this occasion, the home minister shall inaugurate and lay the foundation for projects worth over Rs 200 crore.

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