|
One is a protector. The other is a disaster-buster. When they come together, lives are saved.
Jharkhand’s men in uniform on Tuesday trained to be resilient to natural and man-made disasters at an exclusive National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) camp in Doranda, Ranchi.
For three hours from 9.30am, 45 personnel of JAP, Jharkhand Jaguar and district police were given elaborate lessons on basic emergency procedures such as artificial resuscitation as well as taught innovative ways to combat flood situations like making a lifeboat out of a cot or banana stem and lifebelt out of empty plastic bottles.
JAP-2 constable Alok Ranjan Singh, who attended the training, said he felt enlightened.
“It was a good training. I learnt how a drowning person can be saved with a belt made of half a dozen empty plastic bottles, which should be tightly sealed. Who would have imagined that the charpoy we sleep in can also save lives. Just turn the charpoy upside down and fence its sides and bottom with plastic, you have a lifeboat ready,” Singh rattled off his newly learnt lessons.
His colleague Sunil Kumar Yadav sounded equally excited. “The programme was interesting. Imagine, a thermocal box, which we use to pack electronic equipment and other fragile items, can keep a person afloat for at least 72 hours if there is a crisis. Moreover, you can also turn banana stems tied together into a floating raft,” he said.
J.P. Khalkho, an assistant sub-inspector of Jharkhand Jaguar who was also among the trainees, said the NDRF camp was so interesting that they didn’t know when three hours were over.
“We learnt about the life-saving technique of artificial respiration, colloquially known as kiss of life. Rescue breathing helps stimulate respiration in a person if the heart is beating. Else, one would need CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), which is a procedure to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person,” Khalkho said.
JAP-I commandant Narendra Kumar Singh said the training was an indoor programme and there were no outdoor demonstrations. “The session will continue on Thursday,” he added.
The NDRF comprises eight battalions, two each from the BSF, CRPF, CISF and ITBP. Each provides 18 search and rescue teams of 45 personnel each, including engineers, technicians and paramedics. The total strength of each battalion is approximately 1,149.
|
