Three volunteers of the Kalimpong-based Teesta Rangeet Rescue Centre (TRRC) took part in a three-day training programme in Nepal earlier this month to hone skills in rescuing people more efficiently from rivers during mishaps and natural disasters.

The initiative was supported by the district police.

“In north Bengal, we do not have the facility of such training programmes. That is why three of our volunteers went to Nepal where the training session was carried out in the Marsyangdi river by Bishnu Gurung, an international expert in swiftwater rescue and response,” said Shanti Rai, the president of the TRRC, which has been working in this region since 2019.

The training was offered by the International Technical Rescue Association (ITRA), a nonprofit that trains rescue practitioners and instructors.

Based in Pennsylvania, US, the ITRA offers training in a wide range of rescue disciplines like swift water, rope, tactical, boat, confined space, structural collapse, ice and animal rescue, said sources.

Sajan Dukpa, Sagar Basor and Sangdup Sherpa from TRRC took the training in Nepal.

“They were taught techniques related to rescuing people from rivers, using various boats and equipment, planning and conducting rescue operations,” said Rai.

In Kalimpong, rescuers have time and again rescued and saved people when vessels or rafts have plunged into the Teesta. “More such volunteers should be trained for prompt rescue during incidents and natural disasters and to reduce casualties,” said a resident of the hill district, a portion of which was badly hit by the October 4 flash flood in the Teesta.

“The swiftwater rescue and response course is highly sought-after by lifeguards around the world. The course of several modules trains rescuers in ways to rescue people from fast-flowing rivers like the Teesta,” said a source.

Representatives of the TRRC said the Kalimpong district police, especially Aparajita Rai, the superintendent of police, stood in their support.

“We could send the volunteers only because the SP supported us. For each volunteer, we had to spend Rs 58,000 only to buy equipment. Plus, there were other costs,” said a source from the TRRC.

In future, the Kalimpong-based rescue centre intends to send six women volunteers for a similar training.

Contacted to speak on the contribution of the district police, Rai said: “We have only sponsored the training. All the other initiatives have been taken by the TRRC. It is good that volunteers have successfully finished the training.”