NDRF forges partnership with CSIR, DRDO for tech help

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has entered into agreements with two top research facilities -- CSIR and DRDO -- for technology and allied assistance, the director general of the specialised force said on Tuesday.

NDRF is also working on a "mission mode" to address various "weak links" in the areas of infrastructure and machinery, he said.

"We have initiated collaborative research with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)... NDRF has recently signed an MoU with CSIR, Chandigarh for assistance in finding live bodies with the help of radio- waves," Director General S N Pradhan told PTI.

He was in Haringhata, about 15 km from here, to inaugurate the 2 Battalion of the NDRF HQ campus.

Pradhan said NDRF has also approached CSIR for guidance on providing processed and packaged food during disasters.

"Essentially all CSIR labs are going to be open to our requests, we will give the problems and they will come back to us with the solutions," he said.

The senior official said NDRF is keen to resolve issues concerning infrastructure-related works and maintenance of equipment.

"Operationally, we are very sound. But, infrastructure base is a weak link, battalions were getting created but not completed, there were issues with getting handover of buildings for regional response centres after acquiring the land for them... We are trying to address these on mission mode.

"We have turned our focus on the infrastructure and internal needs, as it is a comparatively lean operational season for us, barring some possibility of cyclones in October-November," Pradhan said.

In terms of machinery repair and maintenance, another area where "gaps need to be plugged", he said Maintenance Operation Stores (MOST) will be set up in all the 12 NDRF battalions across the country.

"MOST will look after the repair of equipment parts, especially those which are difficult to procure from overseas nations... along with manpower, equipment is our lifeline and we have major concerns over their maintenance," Pradhan said.

An NDRF battalion comprises a little over 1,000 personnel.

The specialised force was raised in 2006 for specific tasks of relief and rescue during natural and man-made disasters or threatening situations.