Monday, 2 July 2012

All flood-stranded villagers rescued in Arunachal

By Tejang Chakma


AS MANY as 185 Chakma villagers stranded in flash floods for more than three days in Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang district were finally rescued by an Indian Air Force (IAF) team on June 28, 2012.

The IAF was pressed into action after rescue operations by the Army and the local administration failed. The rescue operation began at 10.30 am and lasted for almost three hours. All the stranded and starving villagers which included women, children and aged were successfully evacuated by a Mi-17 chopper by 12.45 pm.

The smooth IAF rescue operation was made possible only after some expert swimmers, encouraged by Changlang Deputy Commissioner Opak Gao and Bordumsa ADC Kento Riba, monoeuvered across the turbulent river in two country boats to reach the inaccessible area where they built a makeshift helipad by planks that facilitated the landing of a chopper.

The IAF-rescued villagers joined other displaced families in temporary relief camps.


Arunachal Pradesh is prone to floods in particular during the monsoon. Due to high annual rainfall and geological fragility of the region, the floods render many people homeless, devastate agriculture, destroy road communication, towns and other public assets. In Changlang district, the Noa-Dehing river wreaks havoc. Thousand acres of lands have been lost in the last many years.


Published by Merinews.com, 29 June 2012

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