Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has lauded law enforcement agencies for playing a crucial role in relief and rescue efforts in flood-hit areas.
After receiving salute at a combined parade of the uniformed forces during a felicitation ceremony held at the Special Armed Police (SAP) ground on Saturday, Mr. Vijayan said the State witnessed a unique combination of the forces that helped in rescuing several lives.
He lauded the efforts of the Kerala Police, Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, Excise, Forest, Motor Vehicles, and Prisons departments in disaster mitigation.
“The disaster would have claimed many more lives had it not been for their selfless efforts. That they were able to lead from the front, despite little training in rescue and relief operations, spoke much of their character,” Mr. Vijayan said. The Chief Minister lauded the continuous relay of information through the telecommunication network of the police when communication networks were in shambles. The Intelligence wing also played a vital role.
Helping fishermen
While the government had decided to engage the fisher community in the rescue, the efforts attained success owing to the role played by the police in transporting fishermen and their boats to the flood-hit areas. He also welcomed the endeavour being made by the Kerala Police to assist over 2 lakh affected children under the ‘Hope’ project.
Detailing the steps adopted by the Kerala Fire and Rescue Services, Mr. Vijayan called for extending to more areas the community rescue volunteer programme aimed at imparting training to the public in basic rescue operations.
Mr. Vijayan presented mementos to State Police Chief Loknath Behera, Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh, Kerala Fire and Rescue Services Director General A. Hemachandran, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) P.K. Kesavan, Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services R. Sreelekha, and Transport Commissioner K. Padmakumar.
Superintendent of Police (Railways) Merin Joseph led the ceremonial parade. Forest Minister K. Raju, Chief Secretary Tom Jose, Shashi Tharoor, MP, K. Muraleedharan, MLA, and Mayor V.K. Prasanth were present. Following the ceremony, Mr. Vijayan flagged off five pick-up trucks that were formally inducted into the police fleet.