C’garh borewell ops was not easy: NDRF
The rescue operation carried out jointly by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRFChhattisgarh) and Indian Army to save the life of Rahul Sahu, the 10-yearold boy who had fallen into a borewell at JanjgirChampa in Chhattisgarh, was not that easy. The members of the rescue teams faced newer challenges every moment and the fear of large dolomite stones caving in during drilling and water accumulation in the pit haunted them all through. However, the NDRF, which carried out this longest and most difficult rescue operation in its history, showed no fatigue and achieved the mission successfully, said Mahaveer Mohanty, the Odia NDRF inspector who led the rescue operation.
“As soon as we got a call from the local district administration about the mishap, I immediately set out from Bhilai for the spot. On the way in the vehicle itself, we prepared a blueprint about the rescue operation. From our experiences, we advised the administration to provide adequate oxygen and food support to the boy till we arrived there. And, this worked perfectly,” said Mohanty.
Apart from the Bhilai team of NDRF, another team of NDRF personnel from Odisha’s Mundali was engaged in the rescue operation.
“As soon as we reached the place, we dug a parallel pit at a distance from the borewell pit. As we tried to dig out a tunnel to reach out the boy, we encountered hard dolomite rocks that appeared impregnable. However, the prayers of lakhs of people across the country, the support of the local administration and people encouraged us to face the 40 degree above temperature to work tirelessly,” Mohanty said.
The NDRF team leader informed that one of the fellow jawans — braving all odds — crawled into the borewell pit through the tunnel and pulled Rahul out safely, thus bringing a happy end to the 104-hour rescue operation that was named ‘Operation Zindagi.’