Staff Correspondent

A bilateral coordination meeting was held between the Director General of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) and the Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defence at the Ansar-VDP Headquarters in Khilgaon, Dhaka, on Tuesday.

Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Brigadier General Muhammad Jahed Kamal paid a courtesy visit to the Ansar and VDP Headquarters on Tuesday, to discuss operational coordination during natural and man-made disasters.

The meeting followed discussions previously presented by the Ansar-VDP Director General to Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, MP, regarding institutional reforms, capacity building, and the strategic deployment of the Town Defence Party (TDP) volunteer framework. During Tuesday's session, both Directors General deliberated on leveraging the trained TDP volunteer network across Dhaka's ward, zone, and thana levels to respond to sudden emergencies, including earthquakes and major urban fires.

According to official sources, the discussions focused on outlining specialized training programs for a proposed 1,00,000 TDP volunteer members to build rapid local response capacity. Under the integrated framework, trained volunteers registered in the digital Ansar-VDP database will act as first responders, supporting fire control, rescue operations, relief distribution, and post-disaster humanitarian rehabilitation. 

Both chiefs reaffirmed their commitment to strategic information sharing, joint training exercises, and field-level coordination to enhance public safety and mitigate disaster risks in urban areas.