What is the full form of NDRF

NDRF: National Disaster Response Force

NDRF stands for National Disaster Response Force. As the name suggests, it is a specialized force established under section 44 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, for a quick and specialized response to a natural or man-made disaster situation such as flood, earthquake, landslide, etc.

As of now, it comprises 12 battalions, each of which comprises 1149 personnel. These battalions are located in different states of India, which include Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. The NDRF personnel are trained and equipped in response to disastrous situations.

The chairman of the NDMA is the Prime Minister of India, and its head is designated as Director-General. The Director-General of NDRF is an IPS officer on deputation basis.

NDRF Achievements:

In more than 70 responses to disaster situations in the country, the NDRF has saved more than 1 lakh human lives and retrieved more than 2500 dead bodies of disaster victims in the country. Some of the major response operations of NDRF are as follows:

In 2007:

• During flood at Rajkot and Bhavnagar in Gujarat, it rescued 291 people and distributed 3700 food packets

In 2008:

• When Hotel Shakunt collapsed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, it saved 10 people and recovered 6 dead bodies
• When flood arrived at Lakhimpur, Assam it rescued 2500 civilians
• In 2008, during the Kosi breach in Bihar, it saved 105000 human lives, including women, children and elderly, and distributed water bottles, food packets, medicines, etc.

In 2009:

• During Cyclone Alia in West Bengal, it saved the life of 2000 people, distributed medicines to 30000 victims and food packets to 16000 homeless victims
• When flood arrived at Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka in October 2009, it saved more than 10000 people

In 2010:

• It saved 20 human lives and recovered 27 dead bodies when a building collapsed at Bellary, Karnataka
• During cyclone Laila in Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka, it saved many people

In 2015:

• It saved people when an earthquake arrived in parts of India and Nepal in April.

In 2018:

• It rescued people during floods in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.