Driving up from Moolamattom, Ranjith V.J. negotiated hair-pin bends in the light emitted by the headlamps of his closed truck without realising that the sides of the road had collapsed in many places. C. Baburaj, a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation driver, would never have driven through water that reached the lock on the bus door if he was not ferrying armed force personnel to Thiruvalla.
Ranjith, a driver with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Baburaj, and many others like them were the silent heroes of the rescue operations taken up in the wake of the recent flooding. Called upon by the authorities to help the stranded, they did not demur despite the heavy odds.
Four gushing rivers
Jojomon of Chathannur, who drives a tipper lorry, was part of a convoy transporting National Disaster Response Force personnel and their rescue equipment to Chengannur. He cannot forget the sight that greeted him at Pandalam August 16 morning. “It was as if four gushing rivers had come together. Water was chest high, and we were not allowed to pass through in case we ended up in a drain or a ditch.”
For Jijo George, a driver with the VSSC, relief trips that began on August 16 are yet to end. Jijo, who transported relief material from the SMV school here to Alappuzha, made nearly daily trips till August 26. “Thiruvonam was at Mar Thoma residential school at Thiruvalla. We did not feel tired though we made repeated trips.”
Work continues
Jijo is still at work, transporting goods from the Kochuveli railway station to the cooperative building at DPI that has been designated as storage centre.
Baburaj’s work too did not end on reaching Thiruvalla. He was roped in to take the rescued people to relief camps on his bus. “The sights were heart-rending. One young woman rushed out, clad in just a blouse and skirt, her two children in her hands.”
Jojomon says the situation in Pandanad was distressing. “We saw people running after vehicles for food.” En route to Chengannur, when the bus carrying NDRF personnel got stuck under a bridge, they had to cram themselves in his tipper lorry which was packed with equipment.
‘Hill’ on the road
Ranjith says ahead of Cheruthoni, they saw a huge pile of earth as tall as a hill right on the road they were to pass through. “It took 14 hours to make some space for our vehicle to pass through,” he recalls.
Nearly 3,800 vehicles had taken part in the relief operations and the Motor Vehicles Department on Friday honoured a few drivers and vehicle owners. Certificates for the remaining will be given away through various RTO offices.
Minister for Transport A.K. Saseendran who presented certificates to 50 drivers and vehicle owners said they had shown that the human spirit was alive in them.