IAF helicopters drop food packets in flood-hit Tripura

Agartala: Indian Air Force’s M-17 helicopters commenced relief operations in the flood-affected districts of Tripura on Friday morning, dropping dry food and water bottles in the camps of West Tripura, Sepahijala, Gomati, and South Tripura, following rescue operations in the worst-hit South and Gomati districts, officials said. On Thursday, when the situation in southern parts and Agartala became severe, the MHA had dispatched two choppers, along with a hundred specially trained National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and equipment, to Tripura.A state disaster management official said, “A large number of people in Amarpur, Karbook and Udaipur of Gomati district, Santirbazar of South Tripura, and low-lying areas of Agartala have been stuck for two days due to flooding. The choppers were pressed into service to carry NDRF personnel to the spots with equipment till Wednesday evening and more than 1,000 people from different parts of the districts have been evacuated.”Many people sought refuge on the roofs of their houses as rescue volunteers were unable to reach them. Over the course of three days, at least five incidents of women giving birth in challenging locations across Tripura were reported, as they were stranded by the floods and unable to reach a hospital. “The NDRF team rescued them and shifted to the nearest district hospital,” the official added.CM Dr Manik Saha, accompanied by senior officials, inspected the flood-affected areas in a chopper on Friday, and NDRF personnel began dropping food materials and water in the relief camps.Dr Saha said, “We have decided to drop at least one lakh food packets and water in 450 designated relief camps housing around 65,000 affected people. A good amount of solid dry food, baby food, and sanitary items have also been included in the relief packets. Besides local administration, NGOs, civil society organizations, BJP workers, and several philanthropists have been engaged in relief operations.”As the situation showed signs of improvement, preparations for post-disaster management, such as organizing health camps, assessing losses, providing support for the restoration and repair of dwelling units, extending support to farmers, and restoring service infrastructure, have been initiated. All elected representatives, ministers, MLAs, and local bodies were requested to stand behind the affected people to help them return to normalcy, the CM pointed out.Brijesh Pandey, secretary of revenue, said around 17 lakh people across Tripura had been affected, and more than 65,000 people were relocated to approximately 450 relief camps. As of now, 20 people have been confirmed dead, and two are missing due to landslides and drowning over the past four days.Preliminary reports indicated extensive damage to physical infrastructure, agricultural crops, houses, and livestock. A total of 844 electricity poles were broken, 151 transformers went out of operation, 310 kilometers of conductors were destroyed, and two sub-stations became defunct, he said.Landslides occurred in 2,032 locations, out of which 1,789 locations have been cleared, and restoration work is in full swing. Road erosion occurred at 1,952 locations, with restoration works completed in 579 locations, Pandey stated. The NH-8 has developed cracks in many places, restricting traffic movement. Similarly, cracks have developed in many places along NH-108, coupled with heavy landslides.
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