The State Disaster Response Force of the Tamil Nadu police may soon fly by helicopters to disaster sites for speeding up relief and rescue operations. The State Government has agreed in principle to permit the force to deploy choppers in the event of an emergency, police sources said on Sunday.
Going by the Standard Operating Procedure, the SDRF stationed in its headquarters ‘Marutham’ here takes thirty minutes to move at least 50 commandos and equipment from its campus on receiving information about a disaster. In the Moulivakkam building collapse incident, the first SDRF contingent reached the crash site in half-an-hour.
“We raised the issue of using helicopters for disaster management and the State Government is fine with the idea. At present there is one State-owned helicopter and three pilots on deputation from the armed forces,” a police official said.
