Disaster Response
After its constitution in 2005, the NDRF with its swift and highly-skilled rescue operations has emerged as most visible and vibrant force of the NDMA. NDRF personnel are invariably trained in courses like flood rescue, collapsed structure search and rescue, medical first responders, rope rescue, rescue from high-rise building, nuclear, biological and chemical emergencies, ddignified disposal of bodies etc. NDRF personnel are trained in prestigious institutes like DRDO, BARC, CME, DRDE, NISA, Army, Navy and Air Force as well in foreign countries like the USA, Singapore, China, Finland, Korea, Switzerland etc.
Earlier, the NDRF has proved its efficacy with its commendable performance during various disasters including the drowning cases, building collapses, landslides, and devastating floods and recently during Cyclone Aila in 2009.
During the Kosi breach in Bihar in August, 2008, which was declared as national calamity by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, NDRF personnel actively engaged themselves in rescue operations and relief duties on a war footing in Bihar’s Supaul, Madhepura, Araria and Purnia districts. About 780 NDRF personnel trained in flood rescue operations along with 153 high capacity inflatable boats and other rescue equipments were deployed in the flood-hit areas. The swift and highly skilled operations of NDRF saved more than 100,000 people trapped in swirling waters of river Kosi.
Impressed with prompt and efficient response of NDRF, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approached PM Singh for a NDRF battalion to be stationed in Bihar and offered 65 acres of land at Bihta. Similarly, the Andhra Pradesh government has also requested for a NDRF unit.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) commendable rescue operations were no less appreciated during the 2008 floods in Orissa, Maharashtra, Kerala and Assam.
On May 25, 2009, Cyclone Aila hit West Bengal coast with a fury unprecedented in recent history. It claimed least 94 lives, seven of them in Kolkata, and affected over 40 lakh people. More than six lakh houses were destroyed completely or damaged partially. NDRF promptly responded to the devastating situation and 600 personnel of NDRF with 84 boats and other rescue equipments started rescue and relief operations at cyclone affected areas of district 24 Pargana North and South of West Bengal. During the operations NDRF personnel rescued around 2,000 trapped persons and distributed 50 truckloads of relief materials to the affected people.
Training
The DM Act, 2005, envisages a paradigm shift from the erstwhile response centric syndrome to a proactive, holistic and integrated management of disasters with emphasis on prevention, mitigation and preparedness. This national vision, inter alia, aims at inculcating a culture of preparedness among all stakeholders and training of different stakeholders. Training is the most important tool to achieve this end. In future, the key to efficient disaster response will depend primarily on effectiveness of training and re-training of Specialised Disaster Response Forces. With this vision, a detailed “Training Regime for Disaster Response” has been prepared by NDMA identifying the specific disaster response training courses and devising a unified, structured and uniform course module as well as syllabus for these training courses.
While the NDRF is being trained, re-trained and equipped as a specialist force for level three disasters, it is equally important to ensure capacity building of state police personnel who will invariably be responding to any natural or man-made disasters. To ensure this, a two-pronged strategy is being suggested to the states: first, to train state police personnel in the basics of disaster management and secondly, to train at least one battalion equivalent out of their state armed police units as State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on lines of the NDRF. In addition to police personnel, the SDRFs may be constituted from existing resources of the Fire Services.
NDRF also conducts regular mock exercises on various disasters like cyclone, flood, earthquake, NBC emergencies, mass causality management etc. Participation in such exercises on the one hand improve the professionalism of NDRF personnel to tackle the real emergency situations and on the other provides an opportunity to interact with various state government officials and to develop cordial relations with them that can be of great help during response to actual disasters.
Community awareness/capacity building and familarisation programme 2011 is under way in a big way at the respective area of responsibility of each NDRF unit.
