240 Odisha firemen sent for rescue ops

Extending further support to the floods-hit Kerala, the Odisha Government on Saturday sent a large contingent of Odisha Fire Services personnel to conduct rescue operations in the affected areas .

 As many as 240 personnel along with 75 power boats left for Kerala to rescue marooned people at different places in Kerala, said Fire Services DG BK Sharma.

The team led by Chief Fire Officer Sukant Sethi went by an IAF flight from the Biju Patnaik International Airport here. “This is certainly a matter of pride for the Odisha Fire Services. Earlier, Odisha fire personnel had done tremendous job during Cyclone Hudhud in coastal Andhra Pradesh. We also hope that our fire personnel will play a crucial role in flood operations in Kerala,” Sharma said.

As many as 180 people have died due to floods in Kerala, according to reports.

Similarly, a four-member team of Labour and ESI Department officials led by an Assistant Labour Commissioner also left for Thiruvananthapuram to help the Odia labourers stuck in the Kerala floods.

The team would go to Kochi where a large number of Odia labourers are stranded. One Akshya Digal of Kandhamal, who works in a factory near Erankulam, said his relatives in Phulbani are waiting to be rescued for the last three days.

As many as 140 Odia labourers have stranded in different factories. They are from Ganjam, Puri, Nayagarh, Kandhamal and other districts. Speaking to mediapersons, Labour Minister Sushant Singh said the team would rescue the Odia labourers stranded in Kochi and Trivandrum and make arrangements to bring them back to Odisha safely.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Bishnupad Sethi said the Odisha Government is in contact with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) authorities to rescue Odia labourers stuck at different places.