By IANS,
Patna : With floods wreaking havoc in Bihar, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) plans to set up a base camp near the state capital.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) camp will be set up with half a battalion of highly trained personnel at Bihta within six months, NDMA official K.M. Singh said here.
Singh said the decision comes following Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to set up a permanent NDRF base camp in the state.
The floods were triggered by the Kosi river changing its course. Over 2.5 million people have been affected and 35 people have died in the calamity. “An NDRF unit is essential in flood-prone Bihar,” Singh said.
He said the camp will be equipped with state of the art disaster response tools, including 126 high speed motorboats, life jackets, lifebuoys, diving kits and life detectors for rescuing those buried under debris.