National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), set up by the Union Home Ministry for taking up rescue and rehabilitation during natural calamities, is suffering due to poor infrastructure and amenities.
The NDRF, first of its kind force, was set up with a view to save victims during floods, fire, building collapse, tsunami and other calamities in 2007. The Central government has constituted 10 battalions with 11,800 staff.
The 10{+t}{+h}battalion has been allotted to united Andhra Pradesh with strength of 1,149 to attend rescue operations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, A.P. and Telangana. Officials of Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) provided administrative office and the State government allotted 50 acres at Mangalagiri for constructing permanent buildings.
The NDRF officials performed ground breaking ceremony about six months ago, but the works are yet to be started. Paucity of funds is said to be the prime reason behind non-commencement of works. The NDRF has appealed to the officials concerned to allot land for providing permanent shelters to teams in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. But, there was no response forthcoming as yet.
“As the battalion is based at Mangalagiri, it has become tough for the force to rush to the spot of calamity in time. We, however, managed to attend several calls in the four States and carried out rescue operations. We planned to deploy one team each of 47 personnel at three places. But, the local officials are not cooperating us,” a senior official said. He explained that the NDRF received calls only at the time of calamity, ignoring the requests for providing proper infrastructure. The personnel deployed from CRPF, CISF, ITBP and BSF units of different States are forced to stay away from their families as there are no arrangements for accommodation. “The district administration should understand the problems of NDRF personnel and provide land and other facilities to us,” he said.
NDRF Director General O.P. Singh told The Hindu that the force was indeed facing problems on account of accommodation and other amenities. “The Central government has recently allocated Rs. 900 crore and this will be used to equip the battalion with necessary facilities,” he said.
The Central government has recently allocated Rs. 900 crore and this will be used to equip the battalion with necessary facilities
O.P. Singh
NDRF Director General
