Meghalaya's disaster management cell facing constraints

Shillong, Oct 3 (UNI) The Meghalaya disaster management team has been facing constraints and is handicapped to a large extent in the absence of a dog squad in the event of a rescue operation.

Dog squad is a vital component in an emergency situation. However, the state government has overlooked this aspect, which in turn has rendered the disaster management team not being fully armed in the event of a disaster.

''We have not yet requested the government to have a dog squad of our own,'' Director General of Civil Defence and Home Guards William Richmond Marbaniang said here.

Mr Marbaniang added that the problem would be addressed by whisking in dog squads from the BSF's National Disaster Response Force based at Guwahati.

''The dog squad can be flown to any part of the state within hours in the event of a calamity,'' he added.

Nonetheless, the Director General admitted that it would be ''good'' to have a full-fledged dog squad of about six trained canines in the state specifically for rescue operations.

The necessity of having a dog squad is all the more important for Meghalaya as the state falls in the highly seismic zone V of the world and is prone to earthquakes.

The disaster management team is in the process of being trained and procuring sophisticated equipment for rescue and response operations.

''The department is acquiring some sophisticated equipment soon and the personnel from the department are already being trained in complex rescue operations,'' he said.

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