Pune: NDRF inducts 4 Hazmat vehicles, will deploy them at G20 Summit in Delhi

“We had requested the Ministry of Defence to have a modernised vehicle with unique high-tech features equipped into it for this G20 Apex Summit. We never had such a specialised vehicle to tackle various disasters at a time, BEL has fulfilled this,” said NDRF’s Karwal.

“NDRF will play a crucial role in G20 as a prime force and our vehicles will also be deployed in the Summit. We have a collaborative framework with the other agencies working in Summit. We have conducted various training sessions for the Delhi Police and medical professionals to effectively handle and offer assistance to patients during gaseous disasters,” he added.

Karwal said the vehicle’s capacity to detect and identify gases will help rescuers prevent the loss of lives in any chemical disaster. Additionally, this vehicle can also sense radiological emissions. It is equipped with the world’s best technologies to sense gases and chemicals and high-tech communication systems.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)’s Pune unit has designed and manufactured these vehicles. BEL had received an order for a Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) HAZMAT from NDRF in January 2023.

“The vehicle was required to be supplied by August 31, 2023, ahead of the G20 Apex Summit. It’s noteworthy that BEL was able to design, manufacture, and supply these state-of-the-art systems ahead of the deadline, exceeding the expectations of the NDRF,” said Prakash Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, BEL.

The vehicle has operational endurance of up to eight hours. It is a fully enclosed, over-pressurised CBRN Shelter with an NBC filtration and Air Conditioning Unit. It has a spacious operator compartment integrated with a wide range of user-friendly chemical-biological-radiation-nuclear detection and identification sensors, both portable and vehicle-mounted.

It has a handheld thermal imager, providing night vision. It has an alternate breathing support facility in the form of demand valve face masks during contingencies. It has separate water storage tanks of 1,000 litres capacity to store fresh and run-off water and DG set, UPS, and Power Distribution Box to distribute regulated power. It also has sealing equipment for leakage repair.