Thiruvananthapuram: There were heroes and heroines galore in the massive rescue operations in Kerala, necessitated by floods that have played havoc with the state over the past week.
In the air, brave air force and navy pilots flew helicopters and winched out people marooned on their terraces, while volunteers on the ground and fishermen pulled out stranded people from their homes, taking them to the safety of relief camps.
Amidst all such endearing rescue services, one man stood out on Sunday, virtually stooping to conquer millions of hearts.
A trauma care volunteer from Malappuram district, identified as Jaisal, opted to bend his back in knee-deep water and become a footstool for several women, enabling them to board a lifeboat that had come to save them.
Jaisal, a native of Chappapadi in Thanoor did not have to think for a second about what to do when some of the women rescued from their homes were finding it difficult to step on the boat that was at a considerable height from the road.
In the video that shows him becoming a ‘human step’ for the women to step into the boat, a bystander can be heard telling the women, “Step up softly, it is a man, not a stone”.
The incident occurred at Parappur Road near Kottakkal in Kerala’s Malabar region.
The women were afraid to board the airboat after they saw one of the women falling while attempting to board it. That is when Jaisal decided to bend down in the water and stay on all fours, letting the women step on his back and board the boat, one by one. One of the women did so, carrying her child.
The social media was soon praising Jaisal’s wholehearted service to the flood-hit and a few hundred thousand had watched the video within a few hours.
Kerala fishermen in rescue work get pat and money from government
Dozens of Kerala fishermen from Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts who rushed to help in the rescue operations following floods in the state, have won the praise of the state government, which has decided to compensate them, too.
The fishermen had turned heroes on social media, too, for their commitment to the rescue operations. On hearing about the floods, the fishermen had loaded their boats into trucks and rushed to places like Ranni and Chengannur to help with the rescue efforts.
They worked side by side with India’s armed forces, taking their fishing boats through the by-lanes in towns and country-sides of Kerala, which had turned watery paths for them.
Interestingly, many of the fishermen are themselves victims of the recent Ockhi cyclone which had devastated their own lives.
While the social media gave them a big salute, state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the fishermen would be provided free fuel for their boats and Rs 3,000 per day for their efforts in the rescue operations.
The state government has also offered to compensate them for whatever damage their boats have suffered in the rescue work. Many boats had hit the walls of houses while making tough navigation through the by-lanes in various towns in their attempt to rescue people stranded in their homes.
