JOIN USDisaster response forces to come up in four cities
The State government has decided to set up Disaster Response Forces (DRFs) in Bangalore, Mangalore, Belgaum and Gulbarga.
The four DRFs, each with a fixed area of operation, will cover the entire state taking up rescue and rehabilitation works in case of any natural calamity or man-made disaster, according to official sources.
The DRFs are being constituted following directions from the Centre to all the states to have their own disaster response force on the lines of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at the national level. The NDMA has been constituted under the National Disaster Management Act 2005.
The four DRFs, however, will not be established at once but over a period of two years from now.
The unit in Mangalore will have the additional responsibility of covering the highly-sensitive Kaiga nuclear power plant in Uttara Kannada district besides attending to coastal calamities. It will also cover the entire area coming under the Mysore revenue division.
Training
The other three DRFs will have jurisdiction over their respective revenue divisions. The one in Gulbarga will cover Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Bellary districts. Though Uttara Kannada district is part of Belgaum revenue division, for the purpose of disaster management it has been attached to the Mangalore DRF, the sources said.
The personnel to be recruited for these forces will be given professional training in rescue, evacuation work and use of related equipment. They will be kept ready to attend disasters caused by floods, earthquakes, industrial and train accidents, collapse of high-rise buildings etc. Their main task will be to rescue trapped/affected people.
The sources said the government was yet to purchase rescue, evacuation and communication equipment and, train personnel in the handling of these equipment.
Funding
The required funds will be made available from different sources.
For search, rescue, evacuation and communication equipment, five per cent of the funds will be made available from the State Disaster Response Fund. For capacity building of the personnel, grants would be utilised from the 13th Finance Commission.
The sources said the recurring expenditure for raising and management of the four DRFs has been estimated at Rs 15.80 crore for 2013-15.
The recurring expenditure include salaries and allowances; training of personnel and community capacity building. The non-recurring expenditure has been estimated at Rs 31.35 crore and includes procurement of disaster management equipment, vehicles and creating infrastructure.