State set for ‘battle-fit’ disaster response force

By Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh will soon have a state disaster response force — which will be a multi-disciplinary rapid action force dedicated exclusively for disaster management operations. The force will be ‘battle-fit’ at any given time and respond as promptly whenever disasters like bomb blasts, earthquakes, cyclones, floods, fires, etc. strike. Hyderabad will have the first such force followed by major cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati. The idea to raise such a force was formulated by the state disaster management department in view of the growing demands. Each battalion will have about 2,000 welltrained commandos who will be equipped with all modern gadgets to deal with any emergency situation. Each battalion will also comprise doctors, para-medical staff, swimmers, divers and such professionals whose services become critical during emergency.
The then state disaster management commissioner Debabrata Kantha presented a detailed report to the state government stressing the need for raising such a force and the issues involved in it. In fact, it was the Union government that has suggested to the state governments to constitute disaster management forces after it has put eight such battalions in place. Only, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa governments currently have some sort of a force to deal with disasters but mostly they consist of police and military personnel. Andhra Pradesh, however, proposes to have a unique model as it plans to recruit young candidates in the age group of 18 to 35 for a short-service commission and train them in all aspects relating to disaster management. “We require young and energetic people for disaster management operations. The current average age of firemen in the state is 46 years and they are unable to deal with the emergencies effectively,” senior government sources pointed out. The idea, hence, is to form exclusive battalions of “young professionals” specifically for disaster management operations. This will also ensure employment to a few hundred youngsters. The proposal is now awaiting clearance from chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, government sources said. The government is currently considering different options on raising and maintaining such battalions. “We are currently working on the logistics. The government may itself run the force or ‘outsource’ it to private agencies. We are also looking into whether it could be a public-private partnership initiative,” a top revenue official said.