Nashik: NDRF, SDRF Assess Emergency Preparedness Ahead Of Kumbh 2027

Nashik: Before millions of pilgrims arrive in Nashik for Simhastha Kumbh 2027, disaster-response teams have begun mapping the city’s emergency preparedness on the ground. The Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA) on Tuesday brought together senior officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) for a high-level review, followed by a joint assessment of critical ghats and emergency response locations across Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of NTKMA Commissioner Shekhar Singh at the NTKMA Meeting Hall at the Old Zilla Parishad Office, Nashik. Nashik District Collector Ayush Prasad, Resident Deputy Collector Rohit Kumar Rajput, NTKMA Additional Commissioner Kamlakar Randive and Prashant Pawar, among other officials, were present.

Representing the NDRF Pune unit were Santosh Bahadur Singh, Commandant, and Deepak Tiwari, Second-in-Command. Rajukrishnan Kolhe, Police Inspector, SDRF, Dhule, represented the State Disaster Response Force. Senior officials and representatives from various departments also participated in the discussions.

The meeting focused on developing a comprehensive disaster risk management and emergency response framework for the Kumbh, with particular emphasis on crowd management, pilgrim mobility, emergency response and coordination between agencies.

A key part of the discussions was the strategic positioning of disaster-response resources, identification of critical locations, emergency access routes, staging areas and response points, and ensuring that rescue and emergency teams can reach incident locations rapidly during the Mela.

Officials also reviewed preparedness for water rescue and crowd-related emergencies, along with department-wise requirements for manpower, vehicles, equipment and other emergency resources. The need to strengthen the Incident Response System, Emergency Support Functions and field-level inter-agency coordination was also discussed.

The participating agencies further discussed conducting joint mock drills and simulation exercises based on possible hazard and emergency scenarios ahead of the Kumbh.

Joint field assessment

Following the meeting, NDRF, SDRF, NTKMA and other participating agencies undertook a joint field assessment of key operational locations in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.

The team visited Dasak Gangaghat, Kapila Sangam, Nandini Sangam, Ram Kund and Someshwar Ghat, assessing emergency access, response requirements and critical points along the pilgrim movement network.

NTKMA Commissioner Shekhar Singh said, “Before the Kumbh, it is important to identify potential risks on the ground and build a coordinated response mechanism around them. The joint meeting and field assessment with NDRF and SDRF will help us identify vulnerabilities, strengthen response capabilities and ensure that all concerned agencies are prepared to act in a coordinated manner during an emergency.”

Nashik District Collector Ayush Prasad said, “Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027 will bring together a very large number of pilgrims, making advance disaster preparedness and coordinated emergency response extremely important. Our focus is to establish a robust, coordinated and field-ready disaster management system well before the Kumbh.”