India should feel not only strong, but also safe: Shri Kiren Rijiju

 

The Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju addressed the 12th Raising Day Celebration of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) here today.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju said that he salutes the brave hearts who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. He said that the Government is proud of the work done by the NDRF in the past twelve years. The Minister appreciated the NDRF for their dedication, determination, professionalism and team work. He said that the force has done commendable work not only in India, but also abroad. Shri Rijiju said that the Force has gained the trust of the people and is helpful for a country, big in size and disaster prone.

Shri Kiren Rijiju said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had unveiled the National Disaster Management Plan last year which has been appreciated by the international agencies/organizations also. He said that India is playing a leading role in the field of disaster management. He also assured all help from the Government for the efficient functioning of the Force. Shri Kiren Rijiju said that the portal launched on the occasion today will be helpful in coordination and dissemination of information. He emphasized that the Force should work in the direction of promoting soft skills and capacity building at the community level.  India should feel not only strong, but safe, he added.

On the occasion, Shri Kiren Rijiju felicitated the family of the Martyrs by presenting Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak to Shri Nitya Nand Gupta and Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak to Shri Bhim Singh, Shri Satish Kumar, Shri K. Vinaygan, Shri Bassvaraj Yaragatti, Shri Santosh Kumar Paswan, Shri Sanjiva Kumar, Shri Pawar Shashi Kant Ramesh and Shri Ahir Rao Ganesh. Later, he gave away President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service. Shri Kiren Rijiju released the NDRF pictorial book and souvenir and also launched the NDRF portal, jointly developed by ISRO and NDRF.

The DG, NDRF, Shri R K Pachnanda said that the NDRF has trained over 47 lakh people on how to deal with disasters and has saved more than 5 million lives so far. He also said that NDRF was among the first to respond during the Nepal earthquake in 2015. He also said that the NDRF was of great help during Kanpur Dehat train accident, Vardah cyclone and other incidents.

Member, NDMA, Shri R.K. Jain appreciated the NDRF for its great service and said that it is the largest force in the world to handle disasters. He also said that NDRF has successfully conducted South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise (SAADMEx) in 2015.

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