Idukki: National Disaster Response Force or NDRF rescue officer Kanhaiya Kumar is in news for all the right reasons. A dramatic video of Kumar, which shows him running with the child in his arms across a bridge that looked like it could wash away in flood-hit Kerala, has drawn him accolades.
The child, who was rescued by Kumar from Idukki district of Kerala, was suffering from high fever and had to be shifted to a nearby hospital. Minutes after the rescue officer crossed the bridge, it was submerged by the flood water released from the Cheruthoni Dam.
The video of his selfless act shot by News18 Kerala has gone viral on social media with praises flowing in from across the county.
The overwhelmed NDRF personnel thanked everyone for the appreciation. “I have been in this profession for past six years and after this video went viral and people praised me, I feel my hard work paid off well,” he told ANI.
“I realised that I can help the child by taking him to the nearest hospital and I exactly did that. I didn’t know that with just a small act of mine I would become famous. I would like to thank people who showed love and respect for this act,” the NDRF personnel, who hails from Bihar, said.
As many as 14 teams of NDRF consisting of 404 rescuers and 31 boats have been deployed in various parts of flood-hit districts including Thrissur, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Idukki to assist the state administration in the relief and rescue operation and to provide medical support to affected people at the time of emergency.