The Interior Ministry has decided to release previously blocked funds to the Civil Defence Department (CDD) to strengthen its capability for meeting emergencies.
Talking to the upper house of the parliament here on Tuesday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, “The government is resolute to redress problems of CDD as a priority so it could emerge as a potent organisation measuring up to the nation’s expectations during war or natural calamities.”
Islamabad’s Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed told The Express Tribune that a summary of PC-1 for upgradation of CDD has been sent to the Chief Commissioner’s office, according to which three main units will be established in different union councils of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) including Kurri, Bhara Kahu and Koral.
Three ambulances, three rescue teams and firefighters will also be inducted in the department.
According to a senior official of the Islamabad administration, the department is presently ill-equipped to meet any emergency. He said the department has been focusing on training firefighters instead of procuring necessary machinery and equipment because a budget of only Rs2.2 million was allocated for its operations during the year 2009-10. CDD could not even provide rescue services to people in the city’s rural areas during the recent flood, he added.
Rehman said that the interior ministry recently provided Lahore’s Bomb Disposal Unit with state-of-the-art equipment to enhance their capacity to deal with explosive devices.
However, he did not give details of provisions that would enable CDD to handle “war-like” situations. He said that at the instructions of his ministry, the Directorate of General Civil Defence Islamabad has also been issuing instructions to the Provincial Civil Defence authorities from time to time to beef up their operations at the district level.
He informed that the ministry has helped CDD develop its website, www.civildefence.gov.pk, from where people can download material on civil defence and other relevant information.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2011.
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