Telangana govt. extends GHMC disaster response teams' reach to Hyderabad ORR

HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari said on Wednesday that the services of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Disaster Response Teams (DRF) would be extended up to the Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR) to effectively deal with heavy rains and other calamities, aiming to prevent any trouble for the citizens.

Recently, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy issued instructions to establish a proper system to prevent any inconvenience to the people in the event of sudden rains and floods up to the outer ring road of Hyderabad city.

Accordingly, a special meeting was held on Tuesday at the Secretariat. The Chief Secretary mentioned that the Disaster Response Department of GHMC is being strengthened by providing additional staff and appropriate machinery to handle disasters.

Currently, there are 30 DRF teams working under the jurisdiction of GHMC, and 15 more teams will be added, with their services extended to the ORR. Considering the significant number of pharmaceutical companies in Hyderabad, the Chief Secretary suggested forming special teams with specialized training for chemical fire prevention.

She said that GHMC officials should coordinate with relevant departments such as municipal, police, electricity, and water board to ensure people are not subjected to any hardships.

In addition to Hyderabad, DRF teams should be established in Warangal, Karimnagar, Khammam, and other cities, while the existing DRF teams should be strengthened. Officials were advised to collaborate with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) during calamities.

She also directed a study of the performance of disaster response teams in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore. Municipal Department Principal Secretary Danakishore, GHMC In-charge Commissioner Amrapali, GHMC EVDM Director Prakash Reddy, and others attended the meeting.