TURA, June 21: The Indian Air force is conducting its biggest peacetime rescue operations in the Garo Hills on Tuesday by undertaking a series of air sorties to airdrop food and essential items to hundreds of villagers stranded in the Siju-Rongara-Mahadeo-Maheskola region of South Garo Hills who have been cut off from India by flash floods and landslides all around after torrential rains on June 17th destroyed vast tracts of land in the region.
The Indian air force will drop food items in seven places of South Garo Hills that has not been able to be accessed by rescue and relief teams for the past four days. This is the first time such a gigantic air operation is being conducted in Garo Hills region following the terrible calamity that unfolded on June 17th which has led to loss of six lives in South Garo Hills. Two other victims remain unaccounted since their house was washed away by flood waters in South Garo Hills.
The decision to airdrop relief materials to the stranded people was taken by the Conrad K Sangma led government which sought the help of the air force to aid the state in its efforts to provide necessary relief to the affected people.
The air force will deploy its helicopters for an aerial operation and will carry several tonnes of essential food items that will be dropped by parachutes from the sky above to seven different areas of South Garo Hills.
Only at two places will the helicopters be landing to transport the food items to the villagers- namely Siju and Moheskola border villages.
In the other places, Mahadeo, Kanai, Bonbera, Rongsa Agal and Kalu Songmong, the helicopters will release tonnes of tightly packed food items via parachutes that will be collected by waiting teams comprising of police and civil officials who will then distribute the materials to the affected families.
The relief being dispatched by air will consist of rice, dal, cooking oil, salt, biscuits, milk, tea leaves, sugar, drinking water packages, tarpaulin for shelter and blankets.
The entire Rongara to Mahadeo and Maheskola region has been cut off from both sides by the landslides. After the Rongara bridge got washed away the torrential rains also triggered landslides in the South West Khasi Hills region effectively cutting off the South Garo Hills from the Nongjri-Ranikor approach road as well.
There has been no electricity or mobile communication network in the entire affected zone for the past four days and even Siju where roads are still blocked, police and emergency services have been able to reach the area only by using boats over the Simsang river.
