Personal issues take a back seat for firemen on rebuild mission

BHUBANESWAR: For fireman Bijay Kumar Parida, rebuilding the City in the aftermath of cyclone Fani matters more than his personal adversity. For the last one week, Bijay has been toiling relentlessly to clear uprooted trees and restore road connectivity despite being aware of the fact that his house, at Kanas in Puri, has been damaged in the devastating storm.

“An acquaintance from Kanas, who had come to the City, informed me that my house had been damaged in the cyclone but my family was safe. I am yet to visit my place nor have I talked to any family members after the cyclone as mobile services have been snapped. We have a task on our hand and until all the roads are cleared, everything else can wait,” said Bijay.

Such act of selfless dedication is not limited to Bijay alone. There are hundreds of firemen like him who have been single-mindedly devoted to provide relief to the people by putting aside their personal misfortunes.

Another fireman Devi Prasad Behera said the scale of destruction is so massive that he has not been able to find time to visit his house in Salepur since the cyclone. “We are slogging really hard to bring back road connectivity and power supply to normalcy,” he said.

Since May 4, work for the fire personnel starts at 6.30 am in the morning till 8 pm. They have no fixed lunch time while any nearby water body turns into their bathing ghat. 
Leading fireman Baikuntha Rout said cutting huge trees uprooted by the cyclone has emerged as a major challenge for them since it takes a lot of time. “We are able to cut normal trees within two hours. However, several hours are spent on clearing massive trees,” he said. 

Baikuntha said a banyan tree in Nakhara, which had withstood the impact of 1999 Super Cyclone, was uprooted under the influence of Fani. Lakhs of trees have been uprooted and damaged in the City in the cyclone, thereby affecting traffic in the State Capital as well as on the highway connecting Puri.
More than 475 fire personnel have been deployed in the Capital. Similarly, 26 dedicated teams of Odisha Fire Service have been provided to CESU to assist in replacing damaged electricity poles for early restoration of power.

In Puri, around 250 firemen are engaged in clearing tonnes of debris consisting of downed trees and branches, restoring uprooted electricity poles and providing tower lights in streets, including at Bada Danda and the district headquarters hospital.