Armed Forces rushed to Kolhapur, Sangli to rescue flood affected people
Sumit Singh
Pune, August 7, 2019 : An AVRO aircraft of South Western Air Command responded swiftly in positioning the NDRF team of 16 personnel and 3000 kg of life saving equipment including two lifeboats and communication equipment to bolster Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) activities, at 1208 hrs at Kolhapur airport amidst continuous heavy rain. Earlier this morning at 7.40 am one Medium Lift Heptr with NDRF personnel and load from Pune airbase had attempted to reach Kolhapur but had to abort due to bad weather en- route.
The flood has affected thousands of people in Kolhapur and Sangli districts. Over 50,000 persons have been evacuated to safer places.
After getting request from civil administration, Pune-based Southern Command has deployed Army soldiers in Sangli, Kolhapur and Raigad in Maharashtra and also in Belgaum, Bagalkot and Raichur in Karnataka. Each Army column comprises of around 60 soldiers, and they are accompanied by engineering and medical team. Navy teams from Mumbai and Coast Guard team from Ratnagiri have also been pressed into action.
The Goa Naval Area has also deployed four teams of divers for rescue operations at Kolhapur. Five Navy rescue teams mobilised for Kolhapur and Sangli districts after request for assistance to local populace affected by heavy rains. After adverse weather affected helicopter flying, the teams proceeded to Pune by road, equipped with rescue gear.
Earlier Navy’s Dornier aircraft from Goa landed at Kolhapur in the morning with Diving team & relief material to help the population stranded due heavy rains. Addl reinforcements of Diving teams ex Pune & Mumbai being airlifted by Indian Air Force MI-17 for relief rescue.
