NDRF to have 3 bases in Maharashtra, one in Goa

If all goes well four locationsmdashthree in Maharashtra and one in Goamdashwill soon become permanent Regional Response Centre RRC bases for the National Disaster Response Force NDRF UnitV battalion that covers Maharashtra and Goa Currently a stateoftheart NDRF central training academy is in its final stages of completion in NagpurHighly placed officials within the state government confirmed to midday that talks for the three locations are currently in advanced stages with positive consent coming in from both the central and state governments The shortlisted proposed locations in Maharashtra includemdashBambavi in Panvel district close to the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport Tembhode village in Palghar district close to the Tarapur Atomic Power Station and Civil Lines in Nagpur In Goa the Assonora village in Panjim has been shortlistedSantosh Bahadur Singh commandant NDRF BattalionV said ldquoOnce the shortlisted locations are finalised the infrastructure and construction will come up as per the approval of the higher authorities in NDRF and accordingly we will station our permanent NDRF teams as per approval from the headquarters Moreover mobilising teams to any place will be easier from these locationsrdquoNDRFrsquos temporary base office in Andheri WestAccording to Singh around five to six acres of land have been proposed for the facility which will also include an inhouse training centre and residential quarters along with a playground for the drills ldquoOur NDRF team is already trained in handling CBRN chemical biological radiological and nuclear emergencies These places are at strategic locations and mobilising NDRF teams for handling any natural accidental or manmade calamities will be timesavingrdquo the commandant said adding that the response time will be much faster than in the current scenarioDeepak Tiwari deputy commandant NDRF said that Mumbai currently has three NDRF teams stationed permanently in Andheri West which serves as the Regional Response Centre RRC for which the BMC has rented out the Shahaji Raje Sports Complex ldquoDuring the monsoon additional teams are deployed in places in and around the Mumbai Metropolitan Region including Raigad Sangli Kolhapur Chiplun etcrdquo he saidSources within NDRF said each NDRF team is supposed to comprise 47 members as per the SOP but often the number is lesser due to vacancies However the force is augmented through deputation from paramilitary forces like the BSF CRPF ITBP etc none from the army navy or airforce These personnel return back to their parent force after completing a tenure of seven years in the NDRF ldquoThey are entitled to an additional deputation allowance of 10 per cent on their basic salaryrdquo said a sourceNDRF academyA stateoftheart NDRF central training academy is coming up at Suradevi village Kamptee tehsil Nagpur The training academy spread across 15328 acres will impart training to 5000 personnel annually from the NDRF SDRF and civil defence along with officers and other stakeholders At present the NDRF is conducting a similar training program at the National Civil Defense College NCDC Nagpur However it is only able to train 2000 personnel annually The NCDC was merged with NDRF in 2018 as per Home Ministry directives said NDRF sourcesApart from the training setups the new centre will also have advanced simulators to give a reallife feel of real situations such as earthquakes flooding and fires The personnel will be trained in advanced collapse structure search and rescue CSSR ldquoAlso since every NDRF team member is expected to be a good swimmer to handle disasters during flood situations a stateoftheart swimming pool will also come up at the centrerdquo an NDRF officer said adding that basic and advanced training on urban search and rescue USAR will also be providedRaigad disasterA proposal to have a team of NDRF stationed permanently in Raigad district was mooted by Aditi Tatkaremdashformer guardian minister of Raigad districtmdashafter the building collapse in Mahad claimed 16 lives and injured nine In a short span of two months Raigad had witnessed two instancesmdashCyclone Nisarga and the building collapse A permanent force would help save maximum lives in the event of a natural calamity or accident which requires spontaneous relief and rescue workMinister speaksAditi Tatkare cabinet minister women and child development and former guardian minister Raigad said ldquoA year ago after MP Sunil Tatkare met Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the need for a permanent NDRF team in Raigad he directed that an NDRF team be sent to Raigad for three months from June to August until a permanent base camp is provided Since the last fortnight we have got around 2025 members from the NDRF who are deployed at the government rest house in Mahadrdquo When contacted District Collector Dr Yogesh Mhase said he is unaware of these developments and hasnrsquot received any communication so far ldquoThe talks may be at the government level between the state and the centrerdquo he saidNDRF public messageNDRF Director General Atul Karwal in a public message said ldquoIn a very short span of time NDRF has rescued over 148 lakh precious human lives and also evacuated over 7 lakh stranded people from disaster situations within the country and abroad The swift and effective response of NDRF during the Japan Triple Disaster in 2011 and Nepal Earthquake 2015 was acclaimed globallyrdquo47No of personnel in each NDRF team as per SOP