Maharashtra govt looks to strengthen civil defence force grappling with manpower crunch

Civil Defence of Maharashtra recently conducted mock drills as part of the nationwide exercise even though the agency has been grappling with manpower crunch and inadequate training equipment reported news agency PTIRealising the key role of civil defence amid the military confrontation between India and Pakistan the government is trying to strengthen the agency by resolving issues ranging from paltry daily allowance to inadequate sirens and ambulancesWith the spotlight on civil defence a course will be introduced in the engineering college syllabus from the upcoming academic year a senior Maharashtra government official saidThe Directorate of Civil Defence and the University of Mumbai recently signed a memorandum of Understanding MoU finalising the inclusion of the Civil Defence course in the academic curriculum Director of Civil Defence Prabhat Kumar told PTIThis course will be taught in all engineering colleges affiliated with the University of Mumbai and will carry a weightage of 25 marksStudents who wish to serve the nation while pursuing their education will get an opportunity through this course Kumar told PTI adding that students will be trained in rescue operations and saving lives during emergenciesThey will also be prepared to work alongside government and civic agencies such as disaster management cells fire brigades and hospitals especially during emergency and warlike situationsThe spotlight on civil defence has intensified following mock drills conducted across coastal districts and Pune Nashik and Chhatrapati SambhajinagarThese drills aimed to raise awareness among volunteers and the general publicThe mock drills involved around 10000 volunteers from Civil Defence Home Guard NDRF and other emergency response agenciesAn official told PTI the government is taking appropriate steps to strengthen civil defence and its revival is underwayThe Directorate of Civil Defence has long struggled with shortages in manpower vehicles including rescue vans and ambulances sirens and training equipmentHowever these requirements are likely to be fulfilled in the near future he saidAlthough the sanctioned manpower for Civil Defence is 420 personnel operations are being carried out with only 135 staff members across the stateHe said some units like those in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have only one fulltime government employee eachIn emergencies Civil Defence needs its ambulances and vehicles However many of the existing vehicles are in poor condition with some on the verge of being scrapped the official told PTIVolunteers currently receive a daily allowance of Rs 150 for their service A proposal has been submitted to the government to increase this amount to Rs 500 per dayHe added that in addition to the proposed allowance hike proposals for increasing manpower training equipment and sirens have also been submitted The government is positive about meeting these demandsWith inputs from PTIatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params