LAHORE, Oct 8: Offering training facility to the other provinces, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday announced the establishment of a Rs800 million international standard emergency services academy to produce an active and effective force to meet any man-made or natural calamity in the province.

He was speaking at a ceremony held to launch the country’s first Disaster Rescue Team here at the temporary headquarters of the Emergency Services Academy on Ferozepur Road. Lahore Nazim Mian Amer, Chief Secretary Salman Siddique, P&D chairman Suleman Ghani and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

He witnessed a mock operation by the first 50-member batch of the new team which rescued people trapped in a collapsed building with the help of modern gadgets. A mobile hospital was also set up where the team showed how the rescued people would be given first-aid treatment before their ultimate shifting to hospitals.

Appreciating performance of the rescue team, the chief minister said the province would provide equal training to those from the other provinces after the establishment of the academy over 200-kanal of land near Thokar Niaz Beg.

Of the Rs800 million, already approved for the project, Rs500 would be spent on a building for the academy and Rs200 million for purchasing modern rescue operation-related equipment to ensure world-class training.

The chief minister congratulated the academy officials on delivering the goods during the short period of time and with little resources. The Rescue 1122, the first ever emergency ambulance service in Pakistan, saved 31,000 lives with only 14 ambulances in mega Lahore in almost two years.

He said in view of its success in Lahore, the service was being launched in cities like Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Murree, Sialkot, Bahawalpur and Sialkot.

The government, he said, was also introducing disaster rescue and firefighting services in view of the dangers being posed by the trend of constructing high-rises without arrangements for rescue in case of a major accident.

The chief minister said the new firefighting units, to be equipped with the latest equipment, fire tenders and a highly trained force, would be stationed in the existing related offices of the district governments. And where the local governments did not have the system, he said the units would be housed on their own premises.

He said the British government had helped a great deal in training firefighters for the new service. He said a team of selected master trainers had gone to England for further training and they would train more officials in Lahore after their return.

He said arrangements for the most modern firefighting gadgets had been made and the government had also placed orders for specialised ladders to enable firefighters reach high-rises to rescue people.

The chief minister said new firefighting apparatus would ultimately be given to local governments. Initially, the service would be introduced in big cities in the province, he said.

He mentioned the efforts made by the provincial governments for helping earthquake victims in Azad Kashmir and the NWFP during the past one year.

The chief minister said much before the earthquake the Punjab government had placed orders for equipment that could help rescue people in case of any emergency. He said the problem was that the equipment was delivered after the earthquake.

He said the emergency service had nevertheless provided assistance to people in Lahore and Islamabad, recovering alive a number of people trapped in the debris of the collapsed Margalla Towers there.

The chief minister expressed his pleasure over the performance of the new team, and said many other countries were assisting the Punjab government in giving training to its related staff.

He praised those working in the emergency service and said their profession was in fact a service to people.

“This is, therefore, a noble profession aimed at providing relief to the people in distress. Please continue it with devotion and we will fully take care of you,” he told the staff.

He said the training system for them would further be improved, and they would be given a proper service structure.

The chief minister especially praised Emergency Service Director-General Dr Rizwan Naseer for his dedication to raise the service. He said he had developed an institution that the country needed the most, adding the government would make it even more better.

He, earlier, expressed his grief and sorrow over the loss of life and property in last year’s earthquake.

The chief minister said the provincial government had sent 10,000 truckloads of goods to the affected areas. He said it had sent 60 medical teams and surgery equipment, and established temporary hospitals in the affected areas. He said patients were shifted to hospitals in Lahore and Rawalpindi and around 500 in critical condition were airlifted with the help of his official helicopter.

He said the provincial government had sent civil and police officials to Azad Kashmir to restore law and order.