Maharashtra: First batch of SDRF personnel to be stationed by June

Mumbai, May 28 (PTI) First batch of Maharashtra State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), comprising 428 personnel, will be stationed at two places by June.
The Maharashtra government had decided to set up SDRF on lines of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

Its personnel are being trained by the NDRF in Nagpur.

 "A team of 428 will be split into two groups. They will be back in June from training and stationed at Vidarbha (Nagpur) and North Maharashtra (Dhule)," said Rajiv Nivatkar, Director of state disaster management cell.

 "The remaining part of Maharashtra will be covered by NDRF teams that will be stationed at Pune, covering the western Maharashtra, Konkan and Mumbai," he said.

After recruitment, SDRF personnel were sent for training since February.

An official from the department said a few officers will be recruited every year from various districts for additional teams for quick response in case of an emergency.

 "Ahead of monsoon, we have informed all districts to be ready with their SOPs (Standard Operation Procedure) to tackle natural calamities like heavy rainfall, floods or landslide," he added.

The government had installed automated weather stations in all districts to ensure rainfall data is accurate so that compensation is paid to farmers in case of drought, an official from the agriculture department said.

 "In neighbouring Karnataka, the government has installed around 5,000 such automated weather stations within 20 km radius," he added.
Currently, there are some weather stations in Maharashtra which are operated by agriculture, water resources and Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency (GSDA).