Known for their yeomans service during calamitieslike floods that ravage parts of the state every year, theNDRF personnel were seen in action on Friday at Panjwarvillage of Raghunathpur block in Siwan district where morethan 20 people, all members of the same family have testedpositive.
Siwan district has emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot withclose to 30 cases, tested positive for the novel coronaviruson Friday, taking the statewide total to 60, officials said.
Local news channels have beamed images, captured bydrones deployed by the state administration, of NDRF personnelspraying disinfectants on the deserted streets of the village where bamboo barricades have been placed at regularintervals to ensure that the lockdown is strictly enforcedwhile the inhabitants complete the quarantine period.
"We have deployed 15 sub-teams each of comprisingsix rescuers in seven districts of Bihar upon the request ofthe state disaster management department. Our men are at workin Siwan, Begusarai, Nawada, Gaya, Munger, Patna and Nalandadistricts", Vijay Sinha, Commandant of the 9th Battalion ofNDRF at Bihta on the outskirts of the state capital, said.
Notably, among the aforementioned districts Mungerand Patna at present have no active cases though these werethe two worst-affected by the pandemic till a fortnight agowith six and five COVID-19 cases respectively.
Munger was also the place to which the states soledeceased COVID-19 patient, who breathed his last at AIIMS,Patna on March 21, belonged.
"Our personnel are fully equipped with PPE and othernecessary equipment and in addition to active participation inpreventing the spread of the infection through sanitizationwith approved chemical solutions, they are training the localmedical personnel. In fact, as per the directions of NDRF DG SN Pradhan, the 9th Battalion had launched a training cumawareness programme at the airports in Patna, Gaya and Ranchion March 1 this year", Sinha said.
Movement of flights in the country came to halt withthe nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister NarendraModi, invoking the National Disaster Management Act, whichcame into force with effect from March 25.
"Our men are also reaching out to villagers in otherparts of the state with food packets since the peoplesmovement is obviously constrained in view of the lockdown. Weare also distributing face masks and hand sanitizers amongthose involved in keeping the streets clean, whose servicesare obviously salutary in such times but who face healthhazards because of the nature of their work", he added. NACRG RG