Shepherd in swollen Krishna river saved by NDRF personnel

Team Udayavani, Aug 10, 2020, 8:32 AM IST

Bengaluru: A team of 15 from the National Disaster Response Force rescued a shepherd who was marooned on an island in Yadgir district of north Karnataka on Sunday morning.

“Topanna had left home on Saturday with the animals and found himself surrounded by water as 2.2 lakh cusecs were released from Basava Sagar Dam across Krishna. He was stuck on the island,” Commissioner of Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) Manoj Rajan told PTI.

The primary information which KSDMA got was that the 20-year-old man was safe and had left home with adequate food to sustain him for four days, he said.

There was no immediate threat to his life as such, Rajan said.

“However, we decided not to take any chance because every life matters,” he said.

Rajan then contacted Jahid Khan, commandant of the nearest NDRF contingent in Hyderabad, who quickly dispatched 15 NDRF personnel at about 11 pm on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, the team started their operation in the strong currents of the mighty Krishna river, reached the shepherd on the island and successfully brought him back to safety,” Rajan said.