SDRFS trains staff to rescue people

Vijayawada: The State Disaster Response and Fire Services (SDRFS) department is organising special training programme to the Task Force teams to tackle disasters and save the lives of people during the natural calamities like cyclones and floods. 
Coastal districts are prone to cyclones and floods. 

Highlights:

•   Aquatic disaster rescue course will be useful 
•   Itus Sports Safety Private Limited conducting training classes in Krishna river and VMC swimming pool in Vijayawada

The state needs specially trained staff to tackle disasters and rescue people trapped in dangerous situations.

The SDRFS department had earlier signed an MoU with a private company Itus Sports Safety, which is imparting special training to take up rescue operations under water. The state government had purchased special equipment for the training and usage.

After the tragic death of 22 boat passengers at Pavitra Sangamam in the Krishna River in November 2017, the SDRFS is paying attention to train the staff to tackle various kinds of disasters rather than merely depending on the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams to come to the disaster spot and begin the rescue operations.

As part of it, Task Force teams have been constituted in all 13 districts of the state and a 20-day special training is conducted under water to save the lives of people trapped during the floods and cyclones.

Special training is being given in open water rescue, boat operations, scuba diving and underwater body retrieval. Special face masks are used for the scuba diving as the rescue teams have to venture into water to search for the bodies or the trapped persons.
The special training is very useful to the rescue teams said P Venkata Ramana, additional director of SDRFS. 

He told The Hans India that training has been given for two batches each consisting of 50 members and training for the next batch will begin in March 2018.

Amod Kumar of Itus Sports Safety said the company has been imparting training to the police personnel since 2013 and now Rajastan government had sent a team to train their police in aquatic disaster rescue course. 

He supervised the training class conducted for the Rajasthani disaster response force at the VMC swimming pool in Vijayawada on Saturday. 

Amod Kumar said the special training classes are conducted in the Krishna River, canals and VMC swimming pool in Vijayawada. 

Trainees participated in the special class and learnt the skills on use of special face masks and venturing into the water without difficulty.

By MD Ameen