National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has rescued a shepherd stranded in an island between Melinagaddi and Chayabhagavathi near Narayanpur in Hunsagi taluk of Yadgir district.
The shepherd and his 230 sheep were stranded on the island after a heavy amount of water was discharged from the reservoir into the Krishna.
According to sources, Topanna (20) had taken his sheep to the island for grazing on Friday.
He and the sheep were stranded as the water level in the river increased suddenly and surrounded the island owing to heavy discharge. Left with no option, he remained on the island with his sheep for nearly 50 hours.
NDRF team
When the incident came to light, MLA Narasimha Naik informed the district administration and also extended cooperation to bring the NDRF team from Hyderabad. The team arrived in Narayanpur on Saturday night.
The team which had 16 members started rescue operation at 5 a.m. on Sunday, after the location of the stranded shepherd was identified.
Nine-hour operation
“The rescue operation took nearly nine hours to be completed,” Vinay Patil, Tahsildar of Hunsagi, told The Hindu over phone. He added that the shepherd was shifted to a health centre at Rajan Kollur for preliminary check.
Mr. Narasimha Naik, who felicitated the NDRF team, said that the timely arrival and the continuous efforts of the NDRF team helped rescue the shepherd.
He urged shepherds and villagers not to go near the river course for any reason as the water level has been increasing owing to heavy discharge to maintain the reservoir level.
