The Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Force has proposed deploying 100,000 trained Town Defence Party (TDP) volunteers across Dhaka to strengthen the capital’s response to earthquakes, fires and other sudden disasters.
Director General of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Force Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud presented the plan to Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu during a courtesy meeting on Tuesday (September 8).
Under the proposed plan, trained TDP volunteers will be organised at ward, zone and police-station levels and maintained in a digital database. They would serve as first responders during emergencies, assisting with rescue operations, relief distribution and humanitarian rehabilitation.
The proposed volunteers would receive basic Ansar training along with specialised and advanced training in earthquake, fire and other disaster response. The initiative aims to build local disaster-response capacity across different parts of the capital.
The disaster management minister expressed a positive view of the proposal and discussed steps for implementing it in coordination with relevant authorities.
During the meeting, the Ansar-VDP director general also briefed the minister on ongoing reforms, capacity-building initiatives and the force’s role in responding to recent floods and other disasters across the country. Local Ansar-VDP members have been working with the administration as first responders in rescue and relief operations.
The meeting also covered a climate adaptation project aimed at improving environmental resilience among vulnerable communities. Under the project, environment-friendly plants, rainwater harvesting systems and reverse osmosis (RO) systems are planned for VDP members in Bagerhat, Dinajpur, Barguna and Rangamati.
The minister praised the force’s recent development and capacity-building initiatives and thanked its members for their role in ensuring a peaceful and secure 13th National Parliamentary Election.
If implemented, the proposed network of 100,000 trained TDP volunteers is expected to provide a coordinated local response to earthquakes, fires and other emergencies across Dhaka, particularly during the critical period immediately after a disaster.
