Team Herald
PANJIM: The State government has notified a Mass Rescue Operation Contingency Plan (MRO-Goa) for better co-ordination, swift and timely response to all major distress situations at sea in the search and rescue regions (SSR) of the coastal State.
The plan, prepared by the Revenue Department, will come into effect from Friday, May 12. The Coast Guard is appointed as the nodal agency for the search and rescue operations at sea in the SSR region.
The State has about 555-km of inland waterways out of which only 255-km are navigable through the rivers Mandovi, Zuari and their tributaries. Out of their total length the better part is being used by the mining and export Industry for transportation of iron ore to the port of Mormugao and Panjim outer anchorage, from the loading points in the hinterlands.
The department said that a large passenger ship collision, a downed aircraft, or a terrorist incident could call for immediate rescue of large numbers of passengers and crew in poor environmental conditions, with many of the survivors having little ability to help themselves and the dire results of failure are evident.
The main objective of the plan is to prepare a comprehensive contingency plan for large scale rescue capabilities at sea. According to the government, the mass rescue efforts in all the coastal zone needs a co-ordinated and planned response.
“The MRO-Goa is therefore designed to provide a simple and operationally flexible mass rescue contingency plan to effectively respond to all major distress situations at sea in the SSR of Goa,” the department said.
The MRO covers important aspects of co-ordinated mass rescue operation including the scope, rescue procedures, documentation, training, etc.
The plan has taken on board almost all the departments including District Collectors, Captain of Ports, Health, Police, Fisheries, Fire and Emergency apart from national agencies having its base in Goa.
