At a time when a good portion of North Bihar remains badly bruised by the Kosi fury, the Centre has decided to raise one battalion of national disaster response force (NDRF) which will be exclusively meant to tackle disaster like situation in the state.
The NDRF has 8 battalions with bases in different state capitals. "The one that will come up in Patna near Bihta will be the headquarter of the 9th NDRF battalion. In fact, the Centre has already agreed in principle to raise one NDRF battalion for Bihar and possibly by the next rainy season, Bihar will have a NDRF base of its own in Bihta," confirmed official sources. Chief minister Nitish Kumar had approached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a NDRF battalion for Bihar when the latter visited the state on August 27 to undertake aerial survey of the flood hit areas of North Bihar. The CM handed a formal letter to the PM for seeking deployment of 1 battalion of NDRF on a permanent basis so that the NDRF personnel could promptly respond to any natural calamity. The Bihar government even offered 65 acres near Bihta where the NDRF base can be set up with all the required infrastructure support and a training complex.
One NDRF battalion comprises 1,150 personnel including officials. The battalion will have in its ranks water rescuetrained personnel, medical personnel besides search and rescue-trained personnel. ET
