The industrial hub of Ludhiana today became witness to another red letter day in its annals when Union Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju and Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia laid the foundation stone of the campus of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).In his address on the occasion, the Union Minister Rijiju said India is included amongst the frontline countries combating natural disasters in an effective way and NDRF is counted amongst one of the most disciplined and efficient forces around the globe. He further said the establishing of NDRF campus in Ludhiana would not only result in dealing with any natural disaster in state in timely fashion as Ludhiana falls in the center of Punjab but would also prove beneficial to Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. He also said the NDRF is an ideal force for combating both man-made and natural disasters and its personnel have proven their mettle many a times.
The Union Minister further elaborated that the NDA Government is seriously working on increasing the central assistance to compensate the farmers suffering from natural disasters. He invited S. Bikram Singh Majithia to hold consultations with the Union Home Ministry in New Delhi to prepare a detailed plan regarding this. Mr Rijiju also thanked the Chief Minister, S. Parkash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chief Minister, S. Sukhbir Singh Badal for rendering great co-operation concerning the project.In his address, S. Bikram Singh Majithia said the security apparatus of Punjab has been further strengthened with this campus to be established at Ladhowal in Ludhiana. He assured that the Punjab Government would render all assistance concerning the state of the art project. He also declared that the approaches to NDRF campus would be widened by the state government which would also specially train the more police personnel with the help of NDRF so as to form a separate force to combat natural disaster.This ultra modern campus would come up at a land provided by the Punjab Government on 51 acres of land and would incur the cost of Rs. 200 crore. The campus would be completed in 2018.
Divulging more, S. Majithia said a comprehensive plan is being prepared by the Punjab Government to make people aware about reducing the losses from natural disasters. He batted for providing proper training to children and youth at school and Panchayat level for which a detailed plan is being worked out by the state government. He also divulged that NGOs, Private Institutions, Social Institutions, Red Cross Societies and Self Help Groups would be included in this awareness campaign.Earlier, Irrigation Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon welcomed the Union Minister Kiran Rijiju on his arrival in the city and said the NDRF would prove to be quite useful for Punjab as well as neighbouring states. On the occasion, NDRF personnel also presented a mock drill which exhibited the way they save precious human lives at the time of natural disasters with the aid of modern technology and minimize the losses.