Karnataka - Gulbarga   

8,000 more Home Guards will be recruited: Darshanapur

Special Correspondent

Their strength may be increased to 25,000 soon, says the Minister

A NEW LANDMARK: Agriculture Marketing Minister Sharanabasappa Darshanapur inaugurating the Home Guards Training Centre building in Gulbarga on Tuesday.

GULBARGA: Agricultural Marketing Minister Sharanabasappa Darshanapur said on Wednesday that the State Government decided to send a proposal to increase the strength of the Home Guards in the State from 17,000 to 25,000.

Mr. Darshanapur was inaugurating the Gulbarga District Home Guards Training Centre, built at a cost of Rs. 26.87 lakh by the Karnataka Police Housing Corporation on a plot of two acres on the outskirts of the city.

He said there was a need to increase the strength of the Home Guards in the State and complimented the personnel for their selfless service during emergencies.

He said their work during the flood relief operations in the district this year was monumental.

Even the Central study team, which visited flood-hit areas, appreciated the district administration for the steps taken and the Home Guards, who were the first to reach the flood affected areas.

Trained teams

Director-General of Police and Commandant-General of Home Guards Ajaikumar Singh said there was a proposal to establish trained search and rescue teams in all district headquarters under the Disaster Management Authority by involving the Fire Services personnel and the Home Guards.

He said he would meet the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority in New Delhi to seek approval for a proposal to set up search and rescue teams in all districts of the State and seek funds to equip the teams to handle any emergency.

About the demand by Mr. Namoshi, MLC, who presided over the function, to increase the retirement age of Home Guards from 55 to 58, Dr. Singh said a proposal in this regard had been sent to the Government.

In Gulbarga district there were 500 Home Guards in the live register and another 1,200 had registered themselves to be enrolled as Home Guards.

Help in marooned villages

Deputy Commissioner Pankajkumar Pandey said apart from posting five Home Guards each in all relief centres in the district, the Home Guards were deployed in the rescue and relief operations in the marooned villages. He complimented the Karnataka Police Housing Corporation for having completed the construction work of the training centre in eight months and promised to take up the construction of the compound wall for building through either Gulbarga Development Authority or the Gulbarga City Corporation.

Animal Husbandry Minister N. Revu Naik spoke. Afsalpur MLA M.Y. Patil wanted the Government to establish the Home Guard units in all taluk headquarters. In his presidential address, Mr. Namoshi urged the Government to double the remuneration of the Home Guards from Rs. 100 a day to Rs. 200. District Commandant Girija Shankar Shetty welcomed the gathering. Gulbarga unit officer of the Home Guards Ravindra Shabadi proposed a vote of thanks.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

8,000 more Home Guards will be recruited: Darshanapur
Disabled people take out procession in Gulbarga
Victory for project-affected people
Government urged to promote teachers

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu