NDRF’s best friends and how they are trained to save lives

Ghaziabad: One of the primary goals of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is to save lots of as many human lives as possible within the aftermath of a mishap within the shortest possible time. But the efforts of NDRF responders would move in useless to a large extent, particularly where there are collapsed structures, in the event that they had been left to behavior seek and rescue operations sans their canine partners. In fact, officials feel the hunt and rescue missions are not possible without them.
"Dogs are an integral part of the rescue teams. Human capabilities are limited in a disaster situation. You need to quickly locate where people are trapped. Then only can you launch the rescue operation. We cannot even think about the existence of search and rescue teams sans the dog squad. They accompany us on every mission, be it a Tsunami or the earthquake in Japan in 2011 or the Nepal earthquake in 2015 or the Uttarakhand cloudburst in 2013 or recent train accidents in Kanpur, Muzaffarnagar and other places. At every site, they have saved scores of lives," says P K Srivastava, commandant of eighth battalion of NDRF.

The eighth battalion of NDRF, headquartered at Ghaziabad's Govindpuram, has a dog squad of 15 highly-trained canines, who concentrate on finding are living sufferers who are trapped under rubble. With their high sense of smell and explicit training, one bark is sufficient for their handlers to release a rescue operation on the website recognized through them.

NDRF officials say that so much is going in training a dog and making it part of the rescue group. "They are brought in here between 45 and 60 days after their birth and soon, their training starts. First, they are given basic obedience training, and after a few months, the trade training (search and rescue in this case) starts. Till the time they are part of the service (8-10 years), they lead the life of a soldier and follow a strict training regime. They, along with their handlers, practice for at least four hours each day," mentioned Ravinder Singh, head constable and dog teacher of NDRF canine squad.

The power spends round Rs 7,000 per thirty days on each and every dog. The canines are living in air-conditioned kennels within the campus and go through rigorous training for over a 12 months earlier than they transform in a position for rescue missions. For each dog, there is a handler and an assistant handler. They are most commonly fed branded dog food however also are given chicken, mutton, milk and other meals pieces in considerable quantity.

A dog and its teacher percentage an excessively deep bond or even the latter's hand movement is sufficient for the canine to read instructions and practice suit.


Of the 15 canines in Govindpuram, 11 are Labradors and four German Shepherds. There is just one feminine within the group - Ruby, a labrador. Two of the celebrity performers, Don and Bhupi, aged round 11 years, have earned accolades and recognition for their contributions and are on the verge of retirement, even as the power plans to induct Four-6 new canines this 12 months.


The most deployment for the eighth battalion is three canines, however officials say the unit does no longer require greater than 15 canines at a given time.


"Dogs have 8-10 years in the force. If we get them together, they will age together. We spread their procurement across the years and buy four to six dogs each year, so that at any given point in time, we have a mix of young and old canines," says Srivastava.


NDRF’s best friends and how they are trained to save lives NDRF’s best friends and how they are trained to save lives Reviewed by Kailash on January 18, 2018 Rating: 5
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