Disaster management in the Northeast got a huge boost on Saturday with the laying of foundation stones for permanent bases of the 1st Battalion of National Disaster Response Force here and its 12th Battalion at Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone for the Guwahati facility at Amsing here in the evening in the presence of minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju while his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu did the honours at Holongi near Itanagar, also in the presence of Rijiju, who hails from the frontier state, and forest minister Nabam Rebia, among others.
Both the chief ministers and Rijiju said it was a historic day for the disaster-prone Northeast as the state-of-the-art facilities will help strengthen the operation response and training capabilities in areas under its jurisdiction. The chief ministers thanked Rijiju for the help he extended towards the projects.
The NDRF’s 1st Battalion, which operates from the BSF’s frontier headquarters at Patgaon here, looks after Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura while its 12th Battalion, also functioning from a temporary facility near Itanagar, looks after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur.
NDRF director-general Sanjay Kumar, inspector-general L. Ravi Joseph, Assam State Disaster Management Authority chief executive officer Rajesh Prasad and revenue minister Bhabesh Kalita were present at the Guwahati function.
Kumar said both facilities will be completed within two years as necessary funds have been sanctioned. Over Rs 84 crore has been sanctioned for the Guwahati project, spread over 250 bighas (82 acres).
Sonowal said the setting up of two national-level facilities in the Northeast reflected the Narendra Modi government’s efforts to improve the communication and connectivity in the region. “You can see the development that has taken place in the Northeast under Modiji compared to previous governments,” Sonowal said. He also sought the cooperation of Amsing residents to cooperate in the construction of the facilities as soon as possible.
Khandu, too, specifically mentioned the role of Rijiju who brought the project first in 2014 but it got delayed owing to land availability issues. It was later solved with voluntary contribution of land in Hollongi and thanked them for their cooperation.
The Hollongi facility is spread over 63 acres and Rs 110 crore has been sanctioned for its construction.
Khandu and Sonowal also congratulated Rijiju for being conferred the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) champion for the Asia region by the UN.
Rijiju promised to do everything possible to provide the best of facilities in the Northeast so the NDRF is the first responder to any disaster in the region. He also said efforts are on to acquire choppers for the NDRF so that response time reduces significantly.
Rijiju also urged the Arunachal administration to create awareness about disaster management in schools and colleges like it is done in Japan because facilities along with awareness will yield the best results; the objective of any disaster management initiative being to minimise the loss of lives and properties.
The NDRF, comprising nearly 10,000 paramilitary personnel, is the world’s largest standalone disaster response force, which has been handling various emergencies in the state recently, said Rijiju.
Additional reporting by Damien Lepcha in Itanagar
