Jowai, Oct 17: Around 700 part-time Home Guard volunteers will be recruited for the new Border Wing that will operate along the international border with Bangladesh.
This was stated by Civil Defence Director MK Sangma during a function here today.
The department will soon recruit 708 border wing volunteers following the creation of two State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) companies; Sangma informed that the department will convert two battalions into two SDRF companies to strengthen disaster response capacity in times of disaster and crisis.
He also informed that the 477 new recruits will begin their training from November 24 in Shillong, Jowai and Tura. He also mentioned that a proposal for an additional 233 permanent posts has been submitted and will be processed once the current training session begins.
The border recruits will be on top of the 477 mentioned above. Recruitment will primarily benefit border districts, as volunteers will be selected from within a 30km radius of the international border.
Sangma further informed that the Revenue Department has recently approved Rs 2 Crore for the procurement of search and rescue equipment for SDRF personnel. He stated that this initiative will greatly strengthen the department’s operational capabilities and rescue operations.
He also informed that under a central scheme the department will begin the training of 360 Home Guard volunteers and wardens from October 22. Following this, master trainers from neighbouring states Tripura, Mizoram will also undergo training at the General Training Institute.
