New Delhi: More than a dozen specialised teams of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) — the riot-control wing of the CRPF, will undertake disaster relief and rescue operations, officials said Friday.
The teams, well known by their blue dungaree uniforms, have been brought into the disaster management fold on the directions of the Union home ministry and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), they said.
About 340 troops, part of 14 teams and drawn from seven battalions of the RAF, will be ready to undertake disaster response operations, be it natural or man-made, the officials said.
The RAF disaster response teams have received training from the NDMA and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). They are also equipped to handle chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) attacks, according to officials.
Each RAF team has about 24 personnel. The RAF has 15 battalions at present with about 1,100 personnel in each.
A joint symposium between the NDMA, the CRPF and the RAF was held in this context Friday here. NDMA officials, apart from CRPF director general (DG) G P Singh, attended the event and reviewed the training and equipment available with the RAF personnel.
The RAF has been tasked with disaster response duties as the force is present in almost all regions of the country. While there is the NDRF to deal with disasters exclusively, the RAF can be called in for specialised tasks, a senior CRPF officer said.
The RAF was raised in 1992 under the CRPF.
The CRPF is the country’s largest central armed police force (CAPF) with about 3.25 lakh personnel in its ranks and is designated as the lead national internal security force.