Disaster management in the urban parts of Telangana state is monitored by an enforcement wing established for the specific purpose. A dedicated force to keep citizens safe, the disaster response and enforcement force is working under a directorate. In the GHMC purview in particular the directorate of enforcement , vigilance and disaster management wing comprises a disaster relief force to deal with the issues confronted by people.
With 360 fully trained professionals and multi utility customised vehicles comprising 8 LMV teams and eleven trucks this force undertakes the activities with advanced rescue machinery during the times of disasters. The force deals with any disaster situation like urban floods ,structural collapses ,fire accidents, rail or road accidents , tree falls and animal rescues as its prime duties.
The force is floated under the able guidance of Chief Minister Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao and Municipal &Urban Development Minister Sri KT.Rama Rao and on the operational front the Special Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration &Urban Development Sri Arvind Kumar undertaking meticulous steps to direct the teams concerned to operate the rescue and relief in urban parts .
Guided by the urban development machinery the force has dealt with a total of 9000 odd complaints during the needy hours. During the last year the force attended to 2133 complaints and in the Siricilla and Warangal city floods consequent to the forces formation the DRF rescued thousands of badly affected families. The town Siricilla was badly hit by flash floods and in Warangal too floods inundated low lying areas . the DRF of GHMC rushed to these headquarters with boats and other equipment for rescue and relief operations before shifting the affected families to the relief camps. Tree cutting occupied prime slot in the DRF operations when the trees fell across the road and created hurdles in commuting. A total of 1339 tree cutting operations to clear the roads were undertaken by the DRF during that year.
Since the three day long rains are hitting the normal life badly the DRF as part of its rescue and relief operations is put on high alert by the administration and it is prepared to take up the water stagnation clearance operations in the areas where the colonies and houses marooned in the consistence rains. Basically the disaster relief force is keen on attending to rescue and rehabilitation calls and during the past one year about five hundred rescue calls were successfully attended by the teams.
The round the clock rescue enforcement force is even supported by a vigilance network in the urban parts under the urban development department of the state. Even on the enforcement side a total of three hundred complaints were attended by the force and dilapidated buildings that are causing concern in the urban parts were razed to the ground for maintaining safety in coordination with the engineering wing officials.
During the current rainy season also the vigilance network is monitoring the issues pertaining to the existence of dilapidated structures meticulously and the engineering teams were entrusted to take up necessary action wherever dilapidated structures are evident.
The DRF thus remained a weapon in the armory of the urban development that undertakes safety and relief operations on a priority basis during the needy times.
