As a part of a programme to make the country disaster-resilient, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday conducted a conference on capacity building of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and other stakeholders to enhance disaster preparedness at the local level.

Lt Gen N C Marwah (Retd), Member, NDMA, who chaired the meeting, said, “It is very important for NDMA and CAPFs to work together for disaster preparedness and mitigation.”  Underlining the fact that the capabilities of the armed forces were not being optimally utilised, he urged them to proactively engage with local administrations and help in strengthening the overall capacity of the first responders.

He said, "A lot more needs to be done than what is being done today. With better planning, coordination, involvement and commitment, we would be able to make the country disaster resilient."

Sharing their experiences on Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes conducted by their respective organisations, the participants highlighted the need for standardisation of courses across CAPFs. They underlined the need to upgrade training equipment and modernise training centres. Besides the need for maintaining a database of such trainers, a detailed deployment plan to fully utilise their capabilities for further trainings was also emphasised.

A discussion was held on strengthening the Disaster Management (DM) wings of CAPFs by retaining their personnel who have had a stint at National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as trainers in their DM training institutes. The need to train volunteers right up to the village level and equipping them to act as first responders in the event of a disaster was also discussed. NDMA's 'Aapda Mitra' is one such volunteer training programme which aims to train at least 200
volunteers at the district level across the country.

Discussions at the conference will form a part of the deliberations at the upcoming National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) which will bring together all stakeholders to review the progress made so far in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and suggest ways to improve disaster resilience in the country. The NPDRR, being jointly organised by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), NDMA and National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), will be held next month.

Senior officials from NDMA, Home Ministry, NDRF, NIDM, Fire Services, Home Guards and Civil Defence, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and
Indian Coast Guard attended the conference.