India ready to face Weapons of Mass Destruction

Bangalore, Aug 26: The threat of India facing Nuclear, Biological or Chemical warfare is looming large and "is very imminent" keeping in view the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) across the globe, According to W Selwamurthy, Chief Controller of Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Stating that the country should be prepared to face such threats, he told the sources here that they need not come through state sponsored terrorism, even a small group of people could use WMD as was done in Tokyo recently and create panic and disturbances in society. ''A small case is sufficient enough to be blown up and create confusion among the public in such a situation and lead to traumatic experience'', he felt.

Answering a question he said India was fairly well prepared to meet any such eventuality. There was a need to take protective measures keeping in view stockpiling of WMD by many countries which besides having capabilities to make them also could deliver them on target. Terrorists could use them as soft options, he noted.

He said DRDO had developed five categories of technologies -- technology for early detection, personal protection, collective protection, decontamination and medical management -- to safeguard the country's interests in such an eventuality.

Dr Selwamurthy said DRDO had already supplied Rs 127 crore worth technology products to the defence forces, in particular the Army during last year. Explaining the technologies he said DRDO had developed state-of-the-art devices such as gamma spectrometer to ensure early detection of WMD, which could affect nervous system, and chemical agents which could cause blisters. Portable equipment could also be fitted on vehicles in defence forces to detect these agents in war fields, he added.

With regard to protecting individuals, he said personal protection ensembles had been developed to prevent absorption of WMD agents into the skin and the body as a whole. Leak proof respiratory masks had been developed with canisters to filter agents. For collective protection, underground integrated field shelter had been built to house 30 people, who could remain inside four days at a stretch with all amenities and then resume rehabilitation or combat operations.

He said besides developing technology for decontamination for protection in battlefields, standard procedures were also in place to treat those exposed to WMD. Accordingly, soldiers themselves could inject two vials which served as life saving device against chemical warfare agents, he explained.

He said DRDO had also organised training programmes for military and paramilitary personnel on these technologies so that they were familiarised in handling such a situation. India was well prepared to face any such eventuality in terms of technology and mechanism, he added.

UNI