New Delhi: The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will start its first-ever forest fire combat and training exercise on February 6, said NDRF director general Atul Karwal. Announcing this at the 18th Raising Day of the force on Thursday, Karwal said that three of its teams will begin training in forest fire combat at an identified place.
"The exercise will train our personnel on the tactics to mitigate the loss that takes place due to the forest fire disaster which is both man-made and natural," said Karwal. Last year a parliamentary panel also suggested a highly trained force to tackle forest fires.
The NDRF DG informed that the force was in touch with the Ministry of Environment and Forest with regard to the issue of providing training to tackle forest fires. Lauding the efforts of the NDRF in tackling the emergency situation and all disasters in India, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that the force has its identity both at the national and international levels.
Also read: Prez Murmu calls for more women officers in military engineer services
"Till date, NDRF played an active role in 8,500 rescue and relief operations where more than 1.5 lakh people have been rescued and more than 7.5 lakh people have been shifted to safer places," Rai said. He said that initially, NDRF had 8 battalions, which subsequently rose to 16 battalions. "At present, NDRF is working as a regional response centre in 28 locations across India since its inception in 2006," said Rai.
