Villagers rescue persons stranded on Munneru bridge, Bhatti takes credit

Even as the nine persons stranded on Munneru bridge at Prakash Nagar in Khammam city on Sunday were saved by residents of Venkatagiri, a village near Khammam, deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has wrongfully taken the credit for their rescue.

Khammam: Even as the nine persons stranded on Munneru bridge at Prakash Nagar in Khammam city on Sunday were saved by residents of Venkatagiri, a village near Khammam, deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has wrongfully taken the credit for their rescue.

A statement made during a review meeting here on Monday by the deputy Chief Minister and was posted on his local media group stated that “ To rescue the nine persons trapped due overflowing of Munneru stream, the government spoke to Visakhapatnam naval base officials and tried to bring a helicopter, but as the weather was not suitable, we rescued them by alternative means”.

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However, fact is that a resident of Venkatagiri, Narasimha Rao, who owned a JCB vehicle, engaged his vehicle for the rescue mission which was coordinated by the village youth. The JCB driver Subhan daringly ventured onto the bridge and brought them ashore safely by 10.30 pm on Sunday ending their hours agony. The driver and the JCB owner received accolades from the locals for their brave act.

It might be noted that by the time the NDRF team arrived at the bridge at 11 pm, the rescue mission was over. When the team members enquired about the stranded persons, the locals informed them that they went home safely. Then the team members informed the officials that the stranded persons were safe.

On the other hand, the deputy Chief Minister, who might have been aware of the involvement of the villagers in the rescue mission, even lacked the courtesy to appreciate the villagers for their act.

As the locals believed that trusting the government would not yield any result, they had themselves jumped into action even though they had an argument with the police. Even though there were three Ministers in the district they did nothing to save the stranded persons, said BRS minority wing leader Md. Tajuddin.