Mumbaikars, may Force 24x7 be with you

A group of students, citizen volunteers and army personnel will be trained to counter 26/11-like situations

A group of socially responsible Mumbaikars formed a group called Force 24x7 at St Stanislaus School in Bandra on Saturday to deal with situations like the 26/11 terror attacks. The group that includes ex-servicemen, students and common citizens from different walks of life is a collaborative initiative by the BMC's disaster management cell, youth groups, and the Indian ex-services league.

Each squad will be trained in crisis management by qualified military and police personnel starting next week.

Force 24x7's inaugural session included an orientation programme comprising lectures by Brigader Sudhir Sawant on Terrorism and the threat to civilisation, Brigader Mahesh Karnick (retd) on the Training syllabus of Force 24x7, Naresh Karmalker on the 'ole of NGOs and the threat of global warming, and Joint Municipal Commissi-oner S S Shinde on the Role of the disaster response unit of the BMC).

Vijay Chauhan, the chief co-ordinator of Force 24x7, said, "Our training will incorporate yoga, self defence, fire fighting, horse riding and legal tips. The first batch of 30 volunteers will be trained at the Kalina Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad Centre. Our aim is to create 227 such squads of 45 volunteers each, including 43 citizens and two ex-Army personnel in the next four years."