With walkie-talkie sets firmly gripped on one hand and clad in khaki raincoats, the police of three urban commissionerates — Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda, were seen wading through the swirling waters extending helping hands to the public when it rained cats and dogs in the city.
The city police have earned rare encomiums from the stranded public across various localities vulnerable to floods in the city in the last three days. When several localities, including Raj Bhavan road, LB Nagar, Tolichowki, and parts of the IT Sector have virtually turned into canals, the gushing waters pushed aside cars, bikes, and other vehicles. It was the police personnel on duty who reached out to the hapless commuters and averted loss of lives.
The Chikkadpally locality, which is one of the worst affected due to flood, had a saviour policeman who single-handedly is credited to have rescued 25 people from being washed away. Police Constable Veerender rescued 25 stranded people while himself remaining in deep water at Aravind Nagar, Domalguda. “He is my hero. Such officers are the true stars of our team. I salute them and thank the community for encouraging the Hyderabad police,” Tweeted Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar.
Prakash, a young man, who got swept away in the Chinnacheruvu near Ghatkesar, which recorded the highest rainfall of 32.4 cm, was rescued by the Rachkonda police. They also rescued two persons who washed away along with their bikes at Gowrelly village.
The efforts of constable Surender of Abdullapurmet police station was well appreciated on social media after he recovered the body of a missing person by sitting on a poclainer. Police said that the victim, who was later identified as Raghavendra from Bachupally village in Kandakur Mandal, went missing on Monday night. “Telangana Police are going beyond their call of duty to serve citizens… Kudos to Sri Surender, Police Constable Officer from Abdullapurmet PS,” Tweeted Additional Director General of Police (Women Safety Wing) Swati Lakra.
The East Zone police of Hyderabad distributed clothes and food door-to-door to people affected in Moosa Nagar and other areas. The police of three commissionerates have put their training in disaster management and rose to the occasion. The city has witnessed disruption to traffic due to tree falls, water blocking, twisted eclectic poles, and stranded vehicles on the roads. It was a well-coordinated effort with other stakeholders that had seen a seamless return to normalcy even before the ominous rains receded.
No sooner did the announcement of intending rains come than the police in a well-calibrated effort got the temporary houses that cropped up on the bank of River Musi vacated. As the River Musi started swelling, people heaved a sigh of relief and said, ‘Thank God, we are saved.’ Even the top police officials were also seen as frontline warriors in saving and securing the lives of the people engulfed in waters. And at the same time, they were also issuing orders to the police on the ground as and when they got leaks of disaster mitigation.
