Abingdonboy
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The rescued flood victims at the Air Force Station in Chandigarh on Monday.
“In place of God, I will worship the Indian Air Force from today,” said Devinder Giri, who was airlifted to Chandigarh after he was rescued from flood-ravaged Srinagar on Monday.
An assistant civil engineer working with Geo Miller, Giri was among 310 flood victims who were evacuated by ‘Mighty Jet’, a Chandigarh-based IL 76 squadron of the Air Force, which is involved in the relief and rescue operations in Kashmir.
They included retired Major General S K Dhiman, a Korean tourist couple and Fateh Mohammad, a patient in urgent need of dialysis who was taken to a private hospital immediately after he landed in Chandigarh. As many as 14 Armymen and two Air Force men were also rescued.
Recalled Giri, “On Saturday night, the water level started rising rapidly. I rushed to the second floor of the house, water reached there too. There were many other people.”
He added, “With the help of some other men, I made a make-shift raft with a log and some other articles. We used this floating device to reach a four-storey house.”
There, they spent several hours on the rooftop from where they were rescued by Air Force helicopters early on Sunday morning and taken to the local Air Force station, before being flown to Chandigarh.
Giri’s life is saved, but he is worried about his boss. “My boss and his family were also stuck in the same building. When the chopper came, my boss rushed to the third floor to bring his wife and children. However, before he could come back, the aircraft got full and could not bear more load.”
Puran Singh, who is from Delhi, works as an assistant manager with the Central Bank of India in Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar.
“On Sunday morning, I found water everywhere on my floor (third floor of the building). People were shouting and screaming, everybody was panicked. The water level kept rising. I rushed to the fourth floor,” Singh said.
He added, “Later, in the morning, we saw a helicopter flying near our building. I borrowed a red dupatta from a woman and started waving, we got picked up. I am really thankful to the Air Force.’’
Mohammad Azhar from Muzaffarnagar, who makes aluminium doors in Srinagar, said the conditions there were horrifying.
“I saw people and houses being washed away. Though the local administration was making announcements, I could not understand much because these were being made in the local language,” he said.
Though Azhar was rescued, all his savings were washed away. He has no money to go back to his hometown.
“We have requested the UT Home Secretary to provide some financial help to the rescued people,” said an Air Force official.
Most of the rescued people are from UP, Bihar and Delhi. “They were given medical facilities and food. We have arranged for their transportation to ISBT, Chandigarh, and the Railway Station,” said Group Captain Sameer Bhalla, Station Commander of 12 Wing of the Air Force.
The Railway Station Superintendent arranged one general category compartment for the rescued people from UP. For eight of them, financial assistance of Rs 2,000 each was sanctioned by the Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh.
Air Force station joins rescue operations in J-K, evacuates 310 flood victims to city | The Indian Express | Page 99
, respect.
