'Speed of action, agile response needed to combat disasters'

The "speed of action" to coordinate with different agencies during disasters and having an agile disaster response force in every state is the need of the hour to better combat catastrophes, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju today said here.
Speaking on the occasion of the 12th Raising Day of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) here, the minister said apart from having better coordination between the state and central forces and agencies, it was essential to make the general public and stakeholders aware about these subjects so that they are better prepared to tackle it and an enhanced resilience is created against such incidents.

Lauding the work of the force, Rijiju said NDRF has emerged as a "good force in a very less time."
The government is also looking at increasing the number of battalions of the NDRF from the present 12, he said.
"People across the globe look towards India, which is also prone to disasters, to have a good disaster response force not only for itself but also for other global tasks too...The NDRF has earned its name in this category too," he said while speaking about the role played by the force when the devastating earthquake hit Nepal in 2015.
He said the government and the Union Home Ministry will do everything that is required to enhance the capabilities of the force saying "there will be no deficiency in ensuring policy support" for the central force.

"We have to ensure that India is not only made strong but also safe," he said.

During the event, the minister awarded the family members of those NDRF personnel who lost their lives in the Kedarnath valley chopper crash in 2013 when they were deployed for relief and rescue works for victims of the massive floods and rains that hit Uttarakhand at the time.
Rijiju also unveiled a new web portal of the force that will work to provide real-time updates during disasters.
During the event, NDRF Director General R K Pachnanda said the force is trying to "further cut down its response time and it is working with the motto of NDRF with you, for you, always and everytime".

He added that the force has trained over 47 lakh people on how to deal with disasters and has saved more than 50 lakh lives so far.
The force was raised in January 2006.