Rescue, relief work gather pace

NEW DELHI, Dec 5, 2015, dhns:

Sustenance: People struggle to get drinking water; ATMs still shut

Rescue and relief work in rain-hit Chennai gathered pace on Friday with flood waters receding though thousands of people still waited for proper supply of food and power supply.

Amid intermittent rain in some parts on early Friday morning, life was yet to become normal in the city though mobile phone services were partially restored. Other services such as ATMs continued to remain shut while people were struggling to get safe drinking water.

With central forces and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel added more manpower, authorities are expecting to have a speedy rescue and relief operations.

Army chief Dalbir Singh flew to Chennai from Sri Lankan capital Colombo where he was on an official visit to review the situation and oversee rescue efforts conducted by his force.

He carried out aerial recce of the areas worst affected by floods to strategise additional measures and efforts required for ongoing rescue and relief efforts.

At present, around 50 teams are operating in areas of Chennai which are the more affected areas presently. Army has also built up infrastructure to deploy Primary Health Centers along with dispensaries to deal with anticipated flood related medical problems.

The Army chief said troops will continue the rescue efforts till it is required by the civil administration and more troops will be made available as required.

The NDRF is also putting in more men for relief and rescue operations in Chennai. Fourteen additional teams were added to the existing 35 teams in Chennai to strengthen the on-going Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operation. With this, there will be around 1,900 NDRF personnel on the ground.

Five each teams from Pune and Guwahati and four teams from Patna were deployed in addition to the existing teams to assist in the relief operations in the city, which is waterlogged for the past couple of days.

“Since the rains have stopped, NDRF teams have intensified their relief work in the far flung areas of Tamil Nadu. NDRF teams are putting their best efforts to help the needy and provide comfort to persons in stress,” an official statement said. NDRF teams so have evacuated 10,968 people, distributed 6,150 food packets and 2,800 water packets in Chennai.

NDRF Director General O P Singh reached Chennai to take first hand stock of the flood situation and to supervise the ongoing rescue and relief operation today. With the water receding, Singh said they would be able to reach out to more number of people.

The NDRF has also pressed 131 inflatable and other kinds of boats and numerous sets of buoys and life jackets with the rescue and relief teams.