Community Rescue Volunteers set to tackle natural calamities

NDRF gives training to persons in environmentally sensitive areas in Kozhikode

Gearing up to fight natural calamities, Community Rescue Volunteers (CRV) in various environmentally sensitive areas of Kozhikode district have successfully completed their first round of training under the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Rescue volunteers from hillside areas, which witnessed recurring landslips and flash floods, were the majority who benefited from the field-level training offered by seasoned professionals. Heads of various local bodies said they got the support of a 12-member NDRF team to train the volunteer force as the first respondents to meet emergency situations. Though all of them were inducted into the force after a preliminary training, the help of NDRF was like a refresher programme to fine-tune their skills, they said. NDRF officials said they would visit more vulnerable locations in the coming days and offer disaster management tips to local volunteers. According to them, many local rescue teams had already been trained in the area since their arrival here in May. There would be also more demonstrations again to explain rescue operations suitable to the area on different circumstances, they said.