NDRF to station personnel in higher reaches for rescue ops
New Delhi, January 22
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is considering stationing permanently specialised mountaineering teams in the higher reaches of the Himalayan states to ensure that they are acclimatised to undertake swift action during avalanches, landslides and floods caused by glacial lake outbursts, officials said today.
The NDRF, which draws its complete manpower on deputation from paramilitary forces, has proposed to deploy small teams of four to five personnel trained in mountaineering at the border posts of various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
‘Himalayan task’
- The NDRF has proposed deploying teams in the higher reaches of Himalayan states
- Each team will comprise four to five personnel; they will be stationed on a rotational basis
Apart from the ITBP that guards the LAC, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Border Security Force (BSF) have posts at high altitudes as part of their mandate to guard Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan borders.
A top NDRF official said the force had been taking several steps to tackle disasters in the mountains as there had always been a possibility of “aggravated” threat of such incidents.
Speaking at a recently held event to mark the 18th Raising Day of the force, NDRF Director General (DG) Atul Karwal said the force had been taking initiatives in the domain of “disaster response in mountains”.
Always on the Job
The force has been taking several steps to tackle disasters in the mountains as there has always been a possibility of aggravated threat of such incidents. —NDRF official
“The Himalayas are a young mountain range…The forces that made them are still at work and hence these ranges are not settled and stable… Something is changing here and experts attribute many to this phenomenon such as climate change, uncontrolled development and breach of load-bearing capacity of these regions,” the DG said.
He had also recounted the 2013 flash floods in Uttarakhand, the February 2021 glacial lake outburst floods in the border town of Chamoli and the latest incident of land subsidence in Joshimath and nearby areas.
“There is a possibility of such disasters occurring frequently than before and in an aggravated manner. Hence, the NDRF has to be prepared to meet these challenges,” he said.
