1% population to be imparted civil defence training in Himachal

Shimla: More than one per cent of the population of Himachal Pradesh, which is about 70,000, would be imparted training in civil defence to aid trained volunteers, battling disasters year after year, Director, Disaster Management, D C Rana said on Wednesday.

The Union government has declared entire state Himachal Pradesh as 'Civil Defense Town' and under the Act, at least one per cent of the population has to be imparted civil defence training, Rana told media persons here.

Civil defence towns are specifically designated areas categorised for the purpose of organising and implementing civil defence measures. These towns act as hubs for planning, executing, and improving civil defence preparedness in their respective areas.

Himachal is encountering natural calamities every year and suffering huge losses and these civil defence volunteers would be helpful during the disaster as many times rescue agencies like national and state disaster response force and other agencies take time in reaching the affected people and area.

To ensure that the relief and restoration operations are started without any loss of time, the Revenue Department has trained 28,000 volunteers in 3600 panchayats, officials said, adding that these volunteers have also been given three days' training in research and rescue.

In addition, 1500 'Disaster Friends' have been deployed after imparting 15 days' training and the government would also deploy 5,000 more 'Disaster Friends' after training in relief, rescue and searching for the missing persons.

So far, in the past 13 days during the ongoing monsoon season, 34 people have died in rain-related incidents including cloudburst, flash floods and landslides, while 40 are still missing.