Asked to vacate its 50-acre base camp at Mangalagiri in Guntur district, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is considering pulling out its 10th battalion and shifting it to Telangana.
The agency is holding out for a 100-acre plot within Amaravati to compensate it for surrendering its current campus to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is holding discussions with the State Government to find suitable accommodation for NDRF. The State Government has offered a 39 acre lot at Yedlapadu village in Chilakaluripet mandal in Guntur district but the agency has not found it suitable.
The State Government recently asked NDRF to vacate the 50 acres of land allotted to it to host its 10th battalion to that the land could be allotted to the AIIMS.
A couple of days ago, a team of NDRF officials visited an alternative site offered to them at Yedlapadu village. But the officials found that it was not convenient for transportation of disaster personnel.“What they are offering us are three pieces of land at different places, all of which are not close to rail, road and air transportation facilities,” said NDRF 10{+t}{+h}Battalion commandant Prashant Dar.
Transportation facilities
“Whenever there is a calamity or accident, NDRF personnel have to reach the spot early. We have to have our camps located near transportation facilities. Yedlapadu is far away from the national highway,” said an NDRF officer who visited the site.
“We have submitted a report to the government of India. NDRF officials are trying to convince the State Government to allot suitable land. If not we will shift to Telangana, which is ready to allot land around Hyderabad,” said a top NDRF official.
NDRF director-general O.P. Singh will take a decision on shifting the 10{+t}{+h}Battalion after the Godavari Pushkarams, he added.
What they [AP govt] are offering us are three pieces of land at different places, all of which are not close to rail, road and air transportation facilities
Prashant Dar
NDRF 10{+t}{+h}Battalion commandant
