61st All India Civil Defense and Home Guards Day observed

Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Wednesday addressed the volunteers of civil defense and home guards on the occasion of 61st All India Civil Defense and Home Guards Day and said that the volunteers have been playing a pivotal role in disaster management.

The function was held here at Agartala Manoranjan Debbarma memorial police ground at Arundhutinagar.

On the occasion, Chief Minister said that although civil defense was given legal status in India in 1968, this was recognized in Tripura in 1971 during the India-Pakistan war centered on the liberation war of Bangladesh.

The chief minister also said that earlier the civil defense was under the control of the District Magistrate. In 2019 it was transferred to the Home Department of the State Government and later to the Revenue Department in 2020.

Presently there are around 2,000 trained Civil Defense Volunteers in the state. Regular training is being imparted to them at the nodal training centers Central Training Institutes and training centers identified at the district level for disaster preparedness of the State Government, Dr Saha said, adding that presently the Department of Fire and Emergency Services has taken massive initiatives in Civil Defense Training Programme.

He said that according to the decision of the state government, the number of civil defense volunteers in the state will soon reach 1 percent of the total population. To ensure active cooperation of Civil Defense Volunteers and to encourage them, the State Government has decided in principle that trained volunteers will be used for disaster management in both normal and disaster situations, he said.

Meanwhile, the chief minister also hailed the role of Home Guards of the state and said that there are 460 Home Guards in the state, out of which 40 are women Home Guards. The members of these Home Guards are engaged in various offices and perform their duties with honesty and devotion.