Railways forms flood relief team

As the monsoon continues to pose challenges in the Mumbai metropolitan region’s railway network, the Railway Protection Force has formed a Railway Flood Relief Team (RFRT) equipped with motorised boats and trained manpower.

The RFRT will work in coordination with the headquarters of Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR).

The objective is to provide relief in case of floods in railway networks, predict and wherever possible, prevent disasters, mitigate their impact and effectively cope with the consequences by designing effective, realistic and coordinated planning and increase the overall effectiveness.

Also read: Monsoon bright spot in a time of gloom

As such, five motorised inflatable boats with all accessories and safety equipment have been procured and stationed at various vulnerable locations.

These boats can be moved to any location wherever required for immediate response.

Each FRT team consists of one Sub-Inspector/Assistant Sub-Inspector and six other staff.

So far, 15 RPF staff (five women and 10 men) have been trained by NDRF. Training is being provided to more RPF personnel.

The team will be always in readiness during the monsoon -- from June to October every year.

The teams will continuously monitor the rainfall especially during the days of high tide or when heavy rain is predicted by the Meteorological Department and move to where flooding is reported irrespective of whether the train is held up or not.

Also read: How to withstand nature’s fury this monsoon

The team shall maintain liaison with their counterparts in Civil Administration, GRP, Disaster Management Authorities and Control Room. In addition to this, RPF have formulated a well-detailed SOP for the RFRT

Meanwhile, Alok Kansal, General Manager of CR and WR in presence of Arun Kumar, Director General, RPF, Railway Board, New Delhi, reviewed the preparedness at Talao Pali Lake in Thane on monsoon preparedness.

Kansal and Kumar hey inspected the mock drill conducted by RFRT at Talaopali Lake demonstrating rescue and relief of passengers in a train held up in a waterlogged area. They also interacted with the RFRT personnel and encouraged them.

Ajoy Sadany, Principal Chief Security Commissioner, CR, P C Sinha, Principal Chief Security Commissioner, WR, Shalabh Goel, Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai Division, and other officials were present on the occasion.