Date:05/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120557780300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Fire service personnel rescue people from marooned villages

Special Correspondent

10 big boats pressed into service to bring people from flooded villages to safety

Bail out: Fire service personnel rescuing people from the marooned Manappadugai village in Tiruvarur district on Wednesday.

TIRUVARUR: As many as three thousand people including women and children were rescued from two dozen villages that were completely marooned in the week-long heavy rains last week in Tiruvarur district, particularly in Tiruthuraipoondi and Valangaiman taluks.

Water has started receding in some villages from Thursday.

More than two hundred fire service personnel along with about 40 army men carried out the rescue operation under the direct supervision of J. Abdul Jaffar, Divisional Fire Officer, Nagapattinam, holding additional charge of Tiruvarur district.

Winning hearts

The fire service personnel won the hearts of the people as they saved their lives from the marooned villages.

Mr. Jaffar said that about 10 big boats were pressed into service to bring the people from the flooded villages to places of safety and pointed out that the fire service personnel also carried the children and old people on their shoulders and brought them with the help of long ropes.

He said that several villages including Mangudi in Tiruthuraipoondi taluk, Devamangalam, Nemmelikudi, Thenkuvalaiveli, Manapadugai, Erumaipadugai and Thenkuvalaiveli in Valangaiman taluk were worst affected where the rainwater was flowing for more than five feet in these villages submerging all the village roads, paddy fields, thatched huts and it was only vast sheet of water seen every where.

The DFO praised all the fire service personnel for rendering good service by rescuing the people continuously more than a week.