NDRF personnel saved 381 lives, evacuated 20,575 persons in recent Vijayawada floods, says Commandant

NDRF teams rescue 381 lives in Vijayawada floods, evacuate 20,575 people, provide medical aid, and distribute food packets.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued the lives of 381 persons during the recent Budameru floods in Vijayawada.

The NDRF personnel evacuated about 20,575 persons trapped in the floods in Ajitsingh Nagar and the neighbouring areas and shifted them to safer places, said the NDRF Commandant, V.V.N. Prasanna Kumar.

In addition to the nine teams from the 10th Battalion located at Kondapavuluru village in Krishna district, the NDRF teams from Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu), Mundali (Odisha), Jammu, Pune and Bihta (Bihar) participated in the rescue operation.

Besides rescue and evacuation operations, the NDRF assisted in shifting pregnant women, and disabled and bedridden patients from the inundated colonies.

In all, 26 teams participated in the operation in Vijayawada, and five more teams were deployed in the other flood-hit areas in the State.

“More than 100 NDRF jawans and other officers contracted skin diseases and other ailments following the week-long operations in the floodwater and slush. We provided treatment to them,” Mr. Prasanna Kumar told The Hindu on Saturday (September 28, 2024).

“The NDRF teams have also distributed food packets, and provided medical aid through inflated boats and by using ropes in the marooned areas,” Mr. Prasanna Kumar said.