Sources from Karnataka reported that the incessant rains that lashed North Karnataka since Sunday evening resulted in hundreds of villages being flooded and thousands being evacuated from their homes. Meanwhile rescue personnel were deployed in several flooded areas, residents of Kinnur and surrounding villages were not so lucky. Perhaps it was local fishermen like Dhanaraj who helped evacuate over 1,500 families in Kinnur and surrounding villages.
Furthermore within minutes of ensuring that his wife and their belongings were safely at the primary school in Kinnur, Dhanaraj and his fellow fishermen Santosh Anand Kotarkar (41), girija Hittal and jai Sharth rushed to the rescue of the residents of Kinnur. Reportedly on Thursday evening, the coast guard arrived in Kinnur with one boat and is helping the fishermen with the rescue.
Moreover with thousands of families waiting for their belongings to reach the relief camps safely, Dhanaraj and his fellow fisher folk have a daunting task ahead of them. dhanraj says “The rains have not stopped. It keeps pouring all the time. We have a 10 to 15-minute respite from rain once in a couple of hours and again it will start raining. We are trying our best. The District administration has promised us that the Fire and Emergency Service personnel and SDRF will come to help us tomorrow (Friday). With their help, we will be able to finish collecting every one’s belongings in no time”.
