The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be part of the control rooms being opened in the States, at the order of the Union Home Ministry, to oversee the 21-day lockdown.
Each of the 12 NDRF battalions has been divided into 84 response teams that have been put on standby. “All the battalions are on a high alert and ready to respond to any emergency. The situation is being monitored round the clock...,” said an official. In Delhi, four teams had been deployed.
After the coronavirus broke out, the NDRF has trained over 15,000 members of its staff deployed at the air and land ports in the protocols to be followed. Besides personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force and the Bureau of Immigration, officials of the Seema Suraksha Bal or Border Security Force have been sensitised. An awareness campaign is under way.
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Over 5,000 NDRF personnel in States have been in contact with officials of the State and District Disaster Management Authorities. The NDRF officials have also been given personal protection kits.
The Prime Minister-led National Disaster Management Authority has been coordinating the implementation of precautionary steps with the State and District Disaster Management Authorities. The National Crisis Management Committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, is devising a strategy to deal with the outbreak of the virus.