Correspondent
Shillong: As Meghalaya grapples with recurring natural calamities and emergency incidents, critical gaps in manpower and modern rescue equipment continue to challenge the state police and emergency response units. However, steps are now underway to address these long-standing issues.
When asked about the need for better rescue equipment during emergency operations, top Meghalaya police sources admitted to operational constraints. “Certainly. In fact, on that aspect, not only from the SDRF but also from the State Police Emergency Response Team, we have been projecting a requirement of certain equipment and certain training. I’m glad to say that the government has already sanctioned that, and the process is on to acquire that equipment,” a senior police official said.
While she declined to specify the exact budget or quantity, she clarified that “We had given a certain projection, and while some of it has been sanctioned, some of it will be sanctioned at a different date. The Centre, the Government of India, has also written to us asking for proposals for equipment again — for the search and rescue operations and things. But this would be both from the Fire and Emergency Services and from the districts.”
On the issue of acute manpower shortage, the police sources acknowledged the strain on the system. “Manpower — there is a shortage, as you are very well aware. We are undergoing the process of recruitment. We are hoping to fill nearly 3,000 vacancies by the end of another two or three months, we hope,” the police sources stated.
However, the official cautioned that filling the vacancies is only one part of the process. “While the recruitment process could be completed in another three months — that’s what the Chairman CRB has said — you also have to realise that all these people, while recruited, we still have to send them for training. So effectively, I would be getting the manpower only maybe, at the most, by the end of next year at the earliest. Maybe by August–September next year,” the official explained.
The official further added, “We have shortages not only in the district police but in all the other various other units also.”
As Meghalaya enters its monsoon phase with increasing incidents of landslides, floods, and building collapses, the urgency to bolster both manpower and specialised disaster-response infrastructure has never been more evident. The government’s move to sanction new procurements and initiate recruitments marks a significant step forward — but the clock is ticking.
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