SHILLONG: Shillong along with Jaipur has been included under the United Nations Development Programme for training of Civil Defence and Home Guards personnel on disaster management.
Speaking at the Annual Day of the Civil Defence and Home Guards here on Tuesday, Director of the department, R Avasthi urged the Centre to make available the necessary fund so that the programme does not end up being an “empty exercise”.
Stating that the Meghalaya Civil Defence and Home Guards is second to none in the country, Avasthi said that recruitment for various posts in the department is currently underway.
It may be mentioned that the State Government had last year lifted the ban on recruitment for different posts in the department.
On the occasion, Civil Defence and Home Guards Minister Deborah Marak said that the Civil Defence and Home Guards have rendered yeoman service to the society. “Sometimes VIPs fail to understand the service which Civil Defence and Home Guards provide them with,” she said while stressing on the need to create more infrastructure for the department in other areas of the State.
She also urged the department to reach out to the masses and provide them with necessary training to meet the challenges during disasters, especially earthquakes.
Earlier, D Shami, Fire Advisor, Ministry of Home Affairs, said that the Union Government is allocating huge fund for the upliftment of the Civil Defence and Home Guards and it is imperative on the state Civil Defence and Home Guards to utilize the same in the best possible manner and provide the utilization certificates at the earliest.
Urging the department to fill up the existing vacancies, he said that the Ministry is keen to provide necessary training to communities as they are the first to respond during any disaster.
Earlier, some officers and personnel of the department were felicitated. Besides, a demonstration on rescue of people was also presented by the personnel of the department.
