At CWG,400-strong NDRF team from city to tackle any disaster

To handle any natural,nuclear,biological and chemical disaster at the Commonwealth Games...

To handle any natural,nuclear,biological and chemical disaster at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) that begin in Delhi on October 3,over 400 personnel from the city unit of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed at seven stadiums.

We are prepared and well equipped to handle all sorts of nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) disasters at the Games in Delhi. My battalion is equipped to deal with incidental as well as accidental mishaps,be it natural or man-made, said Alok Awasthy,commandant,NDRF,Pune.

The Pune group is one of four battalions deployed at various venues at CWG,the other three are from Kolkata,Chennai and Greater Noida. The NDRF is primarily a rescue and relief team and policing is not our job. Of the 1,200 NDRF personnel deployed,400 are from Pune. This is a matter of pride for us, added Awasthy.

The group that consists of two deputy commandants,four assistant commandants,one medical officer,30 subordinate officers and remaining personnel of other ranks has been deployed in Delhi from September 15 and will continue to be there till October 20. One of the 10 teams has been working closely with the Delhi officials for the past two months and has been sent there from August 1. They have been undertaking training related to mock evacuation exercises,radiation mapping,NBC detection,decontamination and rescue operations at the venue, he added.

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