UDUPI: When all seemed to be lost for Udupi villages at the mercy of flash floods amid incessant rain, hope came floating on a kayak. Mohammed Imthiaz Kemmannu, a kayaking adventurist has rescued more than 250 flood-hit people in the last few years, reports Vinobha KT.
A member of the Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project’s (SKDRDP) Shourya Disaster Management Team, Imthiaz, 44, has rescued nearly 70 people from various villages in and around Nittoor in the last few days of heavy rains that pounded villages of Udupi district.
Kemmannu told TOI that he had rescued mainly patients, elderly people, women and children using his kayak.
“On July 6, I received a phone call from the ward member of Kodankoor at 7am seeking help. I rushed to Nittoor with my kayak and started the rescue operation. When the rescue boat of the fire and emergency department could not be taken to an isolated house in Nittoor, I reached the spot by kayak and rescued two elderly persons, who were stranded there. Later, I continued rescue operation with kayak and helped many who were stranded at Kodankoor, Tharakattee, Kemmannu, Kodavoor, Kemmannu and Nittoor in the next two days,” he said.
Asked to name his biggest challenge in memory, Kemmannu recalls receiving a call from Kodankoor about an elderly bedridden patient who could not be taken out of his house.”Thoma Poojari, 75, was not in a position to walk and the family members had no option but to shift him to the hospital as surrounding areas of their house was flooded. I reached Poojari’s house, which is about 200 metres away from the main road, in my kayak with additional life jackets. I made Poojari lay on the kayak and shifted him safely to the main road,” he pointed out.
Considering his previous rescue operations, Udupi district administration honoured Imthiaz with Udupi District Rajyotsava Award in 2020.
“I am ready to serve whenever people ask me for my help,” said Kemmannu, who runs Water Adventures Kemmannu, a tourist kayaking service provider.
Kemmannu told TOI that he had rescued mainly patients, elderly people, women and children using his kayak. “On July 6, I received a phone call from the ward member of Kodankoor at 7am seeking help. I rushed to Nittoor with my kayak and started the rescue operation.
When the rescue boat of the fire and emergency department could not be taken to an isolated house in Nittoor, I reached the spot by kayak and rescued two elderly persons, who were stranded there. Later, I continued rescue operation with kayak and helped many who were stranded at Kodankoor, Tharakattee, Kemmannu, Kodavoor, Kemmannu and Nittoor in the next two days,” he said. Asked to name his biggest challenge in memory, Kemmannu recalls receiving a call from Kodankoor about an elderly bedridden patient who could not be taken out of his house.
“Thoma Poojari, 75, was not in a position to walk and the family members had no option but to shift him to the hospital as surrounding areas of their house was flooded. I reached Poojari’s house, which is about 200 metres away from the main road, in my kayak with additional life jackets.
I made Poojari lay on the kayak and shifted him safely to the main road,” he pointed out. Considering his previous rescue operations, Udupi district administration honoured Imthiaz with Udupi District Rajyotsava Award in 2020. “I am ready to serve whenever people ask me for my help,” said Kemmannu, cent purchase QR-based tickets.
