City firemen to help Bihar flood victims

Two teams of 22 skilled firemen each, with state-of-the-art equipment, will soon head for Bihar to help flood victims

DEEPTIMAN TIWARY

    Two teams of 22 skilled firemen, each with three motorboats headed by Additional Municipal Commissioner R A Rajeev will take off to Bihar, for rescue operations.
    The team will reach Bihar as part of the state government's decision to provide assistance in the devastated region.
    "The team will be carrying flood rescue equipment. The personnels are trained to handle such situations in swift waters, opposing current and effectively rescue people trapped in such situations," said P Karguppikar, Deputy Chief Fire Officer.
    The team will use inflatable motorboats, floating stretchers, pneumatic lifting airbags (used to remove debris to rescue people in house collapses), rocket launchers; which inflate into a safety tube as soon as they touch water, water-proof torches with a signaling system, wet suits that keep a rescuer's body temperature in control, inflatable life jackets that can be strapped to even an unconscious victim and bags that when thrown towards a victim open up into inflated tubes.
    Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Rajeev said that the team will immediately start work in the affected areas and aims at saving maximum lives.
    He said, "We would like to assure the people of Bihar that all Indians will support them through this difficult time."
ABOUT THE FLOOD
The Kosi river breached its banks ten days ago on the border with Nepal, flowing through a channel it had previously abandoned. Brahmdeo Yadav's village in badly-hit Saharsa district was reduced to an island surrounded by murky water.
    More than 400 boats have already been pressed into service and hundreds more would be used to shift people to relief shelters and higher ground by Bihar government. At least 46 people were reported to have been washed away in floods, as troops and air force helicopters rushed to help police in the rescue operation.
    BIHAR'S SORROW
The Kosi, which flows into the Ganges, is known as the 'River of Sorrow' due to its record of disastrous floods during the monsoon season. More than 800 people have been killed in monsoon-related accidents following the heavy June-to-September rains across India. Report on Page 12 

The firemen will be taking motorboats along with them for the rescue operations in Bihar