In a joint operation on Monday, the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services personnel rescued four villagers and more than 560 sheep stranded in floodwaters of the Manjeera river at Chetlur village in Bichkunda mandal of Kamareddy district.
The stranded villagers were identified as Sai Gonda, 48, of Gunkalloor, Sai Gonda, 38, of Baswapur, Yadav Gonda, 23, of Gunkalloor, and Chakali Sailu, 45, of Chiklur. They were trapped along with their livestock when water levels rose sharply following heavy inflows.
Teams from the Madnoor Fire Station, the SDRF Fire Wing from Nizamabad, and the 7th Battalion of the SDRF carried out the rescue using four boats. The operation was supervised by Sandhanna, District Fire Officer (Siddipet), who is currently in charge of Kamareddy, and T. Parameshwar, District Fire Officer, Nizamabad.
A total of 49 personnel, including 7 from Madnoor Fire Station, 14 from the SDRF Fire Wing, 24 from the 7th Battalion, and 4 from Kamareddy Fire Services, took part in the operation. After several hours of effort, all four villagers and their livestock were shifted to safe locations.
The Director General of Telangana Fire, Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence commended the rescue teams for their swift action and coordination that prevented loss of life and livestock.