NDRF personnel saved 381 lives, evacuated 20,575 persons in recent Vijayawada floods, says Commandant

NDRF personnel rescuing a man in the flood-hit YSR Colony in Vijayawada recently.
| Photo Credit: G.N. RAO

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued the lives of 381 persons during the recent Budameru floods in Vijayawada.

The NDRF personnel evacuated about 20,575 persons trapped in the floods in Ajitsingh Nagar and the neighbouring areas and shifted them to safer places, said the NDRF Commandant, V.V.N. Prasanna Kumar.

In addition to the nine teams from the 10^th Battalion located at Kondapavuluru village in Krishna district, the NDRF teams from Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu), Mundali (Odisha), Jammu, Pune and Bihta (Bihar) participated in the rescue operation.

Besides rescue and evacuation operations, the NDRF assisted in shifting pregnant women, and disabled and bedridden patients from the inundated colonies.

In all, 26 teams participated in the operation in Vijayawada, and five more teams were deployed in the other flood-hit areas in the State.

“More than 100 NDRF jawans and other officers contracted skin diseases and other ailments following the week-long operations in the floodwater and slush. We provided treatment to them,” Mr. Prasanna Kumar told The Hindu on Saturday (September 28, 2024).

“The NDRF teams have also distributed food packets, and provided medical aid through inflated boats and by using ropes in the marooned areas,” Mr. Prasanna Kumar said.

NDRF teams also participated in the rescue and evacuation operations in the flood-hit Konaseema, and Alluri Sitarama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh and Bhadradri-Kothagudem district in Telangana.

“I thank NDRF jawan Bole Pradeep Kumar, who saved my husband, A. Naga Prasad. He rescued my husband who was drowning in water, and held on to a metal fencing wire for two hours, enduring the painful cuts caused to his feet. Salute to NDRF,” a message from Ms. Angara Yochita to the Commandant said.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and other Ministers, who monitored the relief operations, appreciated the services of the NDRF personnel.