BENGALURU : The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) is all set to get more teeth as it is being strengthened with sophisticated equipment worth crores, said Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
After inspecting new equipment procured at a cost of Rs 15 crore, here on Sunday, Bommai said that the government has decided to establish two more companies of the SDRF -- one in Davanagere and another between Hubballi-Dharwad and Belagavi. “Already, four companies of SDRF are stationed in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi and Mysuru, with a total of 434 staffers,” he said, adding that 100 more ex-servicemen will be recruited to the force this year.
He said that equipment such as speed boats, stretchers, scuba diving suits, underwater diving gear, special lights, hydraulic jacks, wood and concrete cutting machines, hydraulic heavyweight chipping hammers, and others were procured at Rs 15 crore released last year and another Rs 15 crore will be sanctioned this year. “A batch of these equipment has already reached cyclone Tauktae-hit Udupi.
Over 1,000 personnel of various departments are deployed in the cyclone-hit areas. SDRF men from Mangaluru and Bengaluru have been sent there and men from Kalaburagi will also be sent if and when needed,” Bommai added.
“About 34 houses have been damaged in Udupi due to cyclone and the residents have been rescued. People living in low-lying areas have been shifted. Eight people were missing after a boat capsized near the coast of Padubidri and Surathkal. While some bodies have been recovered, two were rescued.”