College students who were trained by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) put their skills to timely use during the recent building collapse in Dongri.

On July 16, after an illegal extension of a 100-year-old four-storey building collapsed in Dongri, more than 30 people were feared trapped under the rubble.

Students from several city colleges, who were part of their institutions’ National Service Scheme (NSS) groups, showed up at the site a day after the collapse and lent a helping hand to the rescue teams. “A bunch of us underwent training last month and when we heard about the building collapse at Dongri, we immediately contacted the NDRF and other authorities to ask if we could be of help,” said Sahadev Waghmode, a second-year BCom student at Matunga’s RA Podar College.“With their permission, we showed up at the spot the day after the collapse to help with relief work.”

These students were trained as part of ’Avhan’, a yearly disaster management training program arranged by the Maharashtra governor’s office for selected NSS volunteers from all districts of the state. The training is conducted with the help of NDRF, and students are trained to help with first-aid and other forms of rescue operations.

Divya Alle, a second-year BA student of DG Ruparel College in Matunga, said she was part of an NSS team that reached the spot a day after the building collapse.

“There was a lot of chaos in the area. The fire brigade and NDRF officials wanted our help to move the debris; we formed a human chain along with the fire officers and shifted the debris through the narrow lanes of that area,” said Alle. Some students, who were trained in giving first aid, were asked to help the injured and the relatives of several victims. “This operation sparked a sense of duty and made the participating volunteers realise the gravity of their responsibility towards the society,” said an official from the student wing of the MU.

First Published: Jul 22, 2019 04:21 IST