It was a day out for police officers, students, villagers, and families of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officers, who attended the Krishna Pushkaralu preparations of NDRF in the Krishna River. The 10th Battalion of NDRF, SDRF and the Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) 6th Battalion presented demo on water rescue techniques, as part of the pushkaralu preparations.

Villagers from Seetanagaram, Mangalagiri, Vundavalli, Vijayawada, and other places attended and enjoyed the cultural shows and the demonstrations organised by the force on Friday evening.

City Police Commissioner D. Gautam Sawang, NDRF 10th Battalion Commandant Prashant Dar, APSP Commandant Raja Kumari, Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) Vice-Chancellor A. Rajendra Prasad, Krishna District Joint Collector Gandham Chandrudu, Vijayawada Sub-Collector G. Srujana, NDRF Deputy Commandant Sohan Singh, ANU College of Physical Education and Sports and Sciences Principal P. Johnson and other officers attended the programme.

Folk dances, patriotic songs, shows on boats in the Krishna River and other cultural events were conducted. The APSP and the State and Central forces gave demonstrations on how to rescue the victims trapped in waters when the boat met with an accident.

There was a huge applause from the audience when an APSP head constable Lanka Umamaheswara Rao pulled the boat trapped in waters. “The programme gave relief to the police and the NDRF personnel who are always busy in tackling emergencies. The demo gave exposure on the NDRF and SDRF activities and create awareness among the youth on various life-saving techniques,” said Mr. Sawang.