The District-Rapid Action Team (D-RAT) was launched in Chamarajanagar making it the first district in the State to have trained personnel for rapid response in the event of any disaster.
D-RAT training programme was inaugurated on Monday and entails exercise, drill and training for 50 youths drawn from across the district to handle various kinds of disasters.
A brain child of the Chamarajanagar district administration, the training programme was launched by Deputy Commissioner M.R. Ravi. He said though every district has a disaster management plan, the administration tends to be hamstrung in the absence of trained personnel and does not turn the concept of rapid response, to reality.
He said the newly constituted D-RAT will help infuse confidence among the community members and the trained members too should work in that direction. He said the district administration tends to be depended on National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) or the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to handle any emergency. But the launch of D-RAT will enable the local authorities to take intervention and rescue measures in quick time.
Mr. Ravi said constituting D-RAT will also minimize the dependence on NDRF and SDRF teams and reduce the pressure on them.
The D-RAT members will be trained to handle any situation arising out of disasters such as floods, explosion, fire, earth quake, accidents etc. The D-RAT should morph in to rapid action force in the event of any eventuality, said Mr. Ravi. He also mooted the idea of roping in ex-servicemen into the team as it can help bolster the capabilities of the newly constituted disaster response team.
