Bengal disaster management force 'Arjun Vahini' to be operational from September: CM

PTI, August 23, 2026, Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said that 'Arjun Vahini', which is being raised in the state for disaster management in line with the NDRF, will become operational in September.

He said that the state government is raising the disaster management force after taking lessons from this year's Taratala warehouse collapse, and the Amphan cyclone disaster of May 2020.

"The Arjun Vahini will be launched in September," he told reporters after the foundation laying of five brownfield expansion projects of defence PSUs GRSE and Yantra India Limited.

He said infrastructural facilities, from vehicles to cameras, will be provided to the force.

Adhikari said 'Arjun Vahini' has been instructed to follow the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in its function.

"We have seen in the Taratala incident that the NDRF had rescued 22 people from under the rubble, where the Kolkata Police also played a good role (in the search and rescue work)," Adhikari said.

In a major accident on June 24, the roof and structure of a three-storey warehouse that was under construction collapsed at Taratala in southwest Kolkata, leaving 11 people dead and around 19 injured.

The chief minister said there should be an effective disaster management system in a large city like Kolkata, where there are many illegal constructions as well.

The chief minister said ex-servicemen, and also Agniveers, would be recruited as members of 'Arjun Vahini'.

"Since we will get the Agniveers only in January next year, we have recruited 200 ex-servicemen from the Sainik Board," he said.

Adhikari said of the 200 personnel, 100 will be based in Kolkata and 50 each in the Darjeeling hills and the coastal town of Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas.

"They will be able to respond quickly with modern equipment in case of any disaster," he said.

Stating that the previous dispensation had not spent funds provided to the state for disaster management preparedness, Adhikari said his government was utilising them.