New Delhi [India], September 10 : After the Satya Niketan building collapse tragedy that claimed seven lives, the Delhi Government has begun the process of forming a dedicated State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to strengthen the city's disaster management mechanism.
According to an official statement, a meeting was held with senior officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at the Delhi Secretariat, where necessary inputs were taken for setting up an ultra-modern SDRF team, the statement said.
The move aims to ensure that the national capital has its own trained and rapid response mechanism to deal with disasters and emergency situations.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also expressed gratitude on behalf of Delhi residents to the NDRF team for its prompt action during the relief and rescue operations carried out after the Satya Niketan building collapse tragedy.
Reacting to the formation of the SDRF, Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh welcomed the initiative and said the move would help the city respond more swiftly during times of crisis.
"In times of crisis, people need help and trust the most. Under the leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister Smt. Rekha Gupta Ji, the formation of SDRF in Delhi strengthens this very thinking. With its trained relief and rescue team, Delhi will be able to act even more swiftly during disasters and reach assistance to those in need," Parvesh Sahib Singh said in a post on X.
The development comes in the wake of the September 6 Satya Niketan tragedy, when a five-storey building being used as a hostel for boys collapsed in the student-dominated locality near Delhi University's South Campus.
Seven people, including five students and two labourers, were killed in the collapse. The building, located opposite Sri Venkateswara College, was being used to accommodate students.