Kolkata, Mar 29: Following the devastating earthquake in Myanmar in which over 1,000 people have been killed, India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been placed on high alert. To oversee the preparedness, IPS Piyush Anand, the Director General (DG) of NDRF, is currently in Kolkata. He affirmed that NDRF teams are ready to assist Myanmar in coping with the disaster.

Addressing the media, DG Piyush Anand stated, "We all know that there has been an earthquake of a very high magnitude in Myanmar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has immediately committed that India is ready to help."

He added, "From our side, material assistance has already been sent and there are other things which are yet to happen and preparations are going on for that."

"I will just say that our teams are ready, we will go from here and try to provide more help there, so that we can respond there and provide relief to them and save some lives. The NDRF vows to support Myanmar to help them deal with the earthquake's impact," Anand added.

"Look, we have activated our entire resources and sent a 80-member team. Whenever a team goes, whatever the government requests us to do, we do that. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already said that he is ready to help Myanmar to the fullest extent. Now it remains to be seen what the Myanmar government is requesting from us, we are ready to provide every possible help," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar posted photos of the NDRF team sent to Myanmar with the hashtag 'Operation Brahma', stating, "80-member strong @NDRFHQ search & rescue team departs for Nay Pyi Taw. They will assist in the rescue operations in Myanmar."

Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand experienced a high-intensity earthquake on Friday, resulting in the destruction of buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure. Reports indicate that more than 1,000 people have been killed in Myanmar and the number is expected to go up further as aftershocks continue to rock the region.

India had previously deployed NDRF teams abroad during the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 2023 Turkey earthquake.

On Saturday, India sent approximately 15 tonnes of relief material to Yangon, Myanmar, via an Indian Air Force C130J military transport aircraft.

PM Modi expressed concern over the devastating earthquake on Friday, affirming that India stands ready to provide all possible assistance to both affected countries.

(IANS)

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