Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has promised to grant necessary funds to State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).
Mr. Naidu inaugurated the State Disaster Response and Fire Services headquarters building, the first government office for the new State in Vijayawada on Friday. The Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh had a 1,000-kilometre coastline, but the area was prone to cyclones and disasters.
The SDRF should be developed with modern equipment to make rescue and relief operations as quickly as possible during calamities, he said.
Stating that disaster management, traffic, law and order and related disciplines are a must for developing the State, he said: “If we are prepared, we can invite investors from across the globe to AP.” He also asked the SDRF to follow the fire manual, conduct mock drills and train students in schools on rescue operations during fire and other accidents.
Earlier, the SDRF personnel gave a demonstration on life saving methods in flowing water in Bandar canal behind the newly inaugurated office. He praised the fire services authorities for giving imparting training to the force in a short period. “If SDRF is well trained, we can minimise human and property loss during cyclones, floods and other natural calamities.
During Hudhud cyclone which hit Visakhapatnam recently, we took a couple of days to restore power . But, it is very necessary to use technology and respond well during calamities,” said Mr. Naidu.
He cautioned that there would be surprise inspections on government offices across the State from Saturday onwards. Assuring that there would be no power cuts for domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors in the coming days, he said the government was taking measures to prevent power pilferage and provide quality power to consumers at a low price. Deputy Chief Minister N. Chinarajappa, Ministers P. Narayana, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, P. Pulla Rao, Kamineni Srinivas and Kollu Ravindra, Principal Secretary (Home) B. Prasada Rao, Director General (Fire Services) N. Sambasiva Rao, MLAs and others were also present.
