Defusing disasters since 1957: India’s only civil defence college in Nagpur puts training to work

NAGPUR: From bombed buildings to plane crashes, from unexploded bombs in your garden to trains being targeted by the enemy — for almost 70 years an institute in Nagpur has been teaching survival skills as part of its ‘civil defence' agenda to the country. Formerly known as National Civil Defence College (NCDC), the now rechristened NDRF Academy is the ONLY dedicated residential training college run by the Union home ministry in the entire country.Started in 1957 to have the line of first responders fully trained in the event of a war, the institute has been churning out a steady stream of ‘master-trainers'.Courses like nuclear emergency, advanced hazmat support, unexploded bombs and explosive safety are just some subjects which are part of the flexible curriculum. Course duration ranges from a few weeks to over a month, depending on which courses are being picked.But this home ministry's college is open only to candidates sent either by the state govt or Union Territory authority. Hari Om Gandhi, a DIG rank officer who is also director of the institute said "These candidates could be security personnel, or employees of some govt or industrial set up. But we can admit only those who are nominated by the authorities."Located in the heart of the city, the sprawling campus is now equipped with props which range from a real train bogie, an unusable aircraft and a helicopter (body shell). Rajesh Chaudhari, deputy director of the institute said, "These props help us to provide hands-on training to our candidates. During war, you could have a chopper crash in your neighbourhood or a bomb fall in your garden. What to do in such situations is what our candidates are trained in."Those who complete the course from the NDRF Academy, are tagged as master-trainers. Gandhi said, "It is not possible for everyone to train here, hence these master trainers pass on their knowledge at the district level. It then percolates to taluka and village level, which is the idea behind the concept of civil defence."In one corner of the campus lies a dilapidated building surrounded by huge concrete slabs strewn all over. Gandhi said "This is what a collapsed building would look like in case of bombing. The training we impart focuses on what survivors can do. And the first responders are the trained Civil Defence volunteers in the local area, who can immediately start the rescue process."The erstwhile NCDC was merged with NDRF, and now in Nagpur they are constructing a ‘Centre of Excellence' on almost 120 acre land parcel. Once ready, the civil defence preparedness courses are expected to hit the next level.