Civil defence personnel crucial to disaster management, must receive advanced training: Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said the role of civil defence personnel is no longer confined to wartime situations, but equally crucial in disaster management and relief, and ensuring prompt response during emergencies.

The chief minister chaired a review meeting on the functioning of the civil defence department here, where he stressed that the department’s capabilities in relief and rescue, firefighting, first-aid, search and rescue and disaster management should be further strengthened, an official statement said .

Yogi Adityanath directed officials to ensure that volunteers are trained in line with modern requirements and more people are involved in disaster management and civil defence activities. He also emphasised the need for involving retired Army personnel in training programmes.

He said as schools and colleges are currently on vacation, volunteers associated with the National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), and similar organisations should also be involved in civil defence training.

According to the statement, the civil defence wing, established in 1962 following the Indo-China War, was entrusted with responsibilities related to disaster preparedness and response through an amendment to the Civil Defence Act in 2009.