The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Special elite force to handle disasters

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Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Special elite force to handle disasters

M. Srinivas

HYDERABAD: The Fire and Emergency Services Department will soon metamorphose into a specialised elite force for attending to all emergencies during disasters.

As a first step, the government has constituted a nine-member sub-committee on “Restructuring Fire and Emergency Services Department” with Home Minister K. Jana Reddy as its Chairman. A government order (G.O. Ms. No.108) was also issued to this effect a few weeks ago. The committee members -- Commissioner for Disaster Management Preeti Sudan and Director-General of Fire and Emergency Services Department Aruna Bahaguna -- will be holding a meeting with officials of the National Disaster Management Authority in New Delhi this week to discuss the necessary training and equipment required for firemen. They will also study various measures taken by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.

According to sources, the idea for restructuring the department was mooted after Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy took a serious note of lack of preparedness in taking-up rescue operations in the flood-affected areas in Nellore, Kadapa and Prakasam last year.

Dedicated body

Presently, there’s no mechanism to deal with the situation if a major natural disaster or a major incident occurs in the State. The government’s intention is to create a dedicated body that will assess, plan, and implement vital aspects of disaster management (prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response). It will also ensure a unified command, control and coordination structure for disaster management by integrating different government agencies, besides better coordination with Central government in case of any calamity, sources said. “We are discussing the modalities required for developing the department into a specialised force ,” said Preeti Sudan.

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