Rain triggers mayhem in Mumbai , NDRF initiates rescue operations.
Evolution of Disaster Management in India
The mid nineties and the subsequent decade saw much international debate & discussion around Disaster Response & Preparedness.
Some of the notable and more impactful ones were the Yokohama Strategy Plan(1994) & the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005), adopted by the UN.
During the same period India faced some of its most severe natural calamities like Orissa Super Cyclone (1999), Gujarat Earthquake (2001) and Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004).
This succession of events and the International environment brought to fore the need for a comprehensive disaster management plan.
This led to the enactment of the Disaster Management Act in 2005.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was constituted to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management.
About the National Disaster Response Force
The Disaster Management Act has statutory provisions for the constitution of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of specialized response to natural and man-made disasters.
Accordingly, in 2006 NDRF was constituted with 8 Battalions.
At present, NDRF has a strength of 12 Battalions with each Battalion consisting of 1149 personnel.
NDRF is a distinguished, unique Force across the country functioning under the Ministry of Home A airs, Government of India, within the overall command, control and leadership of the Director General, NDRF.
Major Rescue operations
In September 2014, the Jammu and Kashmir region suered disastrous floods across many of its districts caused by torrential rainfall.
This was the first-ever experience for NDRF to handle urban flooding on such a massive scale.
When cyclone Hud-hud pounded the eastern Indian coast in October 2014, NDRF personnel were present there to save lives of the a ected people.
When on 25 April 2015, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 and a depth of 15 km struck Nepal, India’s National Disaster Response Force made the headlines by capitalizing the golden hours’ rule of disaster management by being the first on the ground.
In later part of 2015, NDRF created a milestone in one of the marathon rescue operations of its kind in Bilaspur tunnel accident in Himachal Pradesh
Besides the professionalism shown during rescue operations in floods and cyclones and collapsed structure search and rescue (CSSR) operations.
NDRF has also acquired considerable expertise in facing CBRN (Chemical,Biological, Radiological & Nuclear) challenges. .
The creditable task of NDRF in retrieving Cobalt-60 radiological material atMayapuri, Delhi.
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