Caste no bar, help was their only motto

DHNS

Bajpe, 25 May 2010: It is the crisis that brings out genuineness of people. Though Mangalore has been on news for wrong reasons, one act of people of Mangalore on the tragic day helped in erasing all those cliches attached to Mangalore. Mangaloreans now can claim its proud glory due to the actions of children of soil.

The youths coming from various background, caste, creed and religion did not worry over their background but engaged in rescue operation and helped the police and fire personnel to recover the bodies on the ill-fated tragic Saturday.

Unlike on some other occasions, none bothered about their caste, creed or religion. By 6.30 am, hundreds of youths had come to the spot to help in rescue operation voluntarily. There was no religion here, no colour and no disparity between poor and rich. All came forward to help their fellow mankind at the time of distress. “The youths were seen joining hands in the thick forest and showcased the communal harmony of the district which was fast evading,” said a senior citizen of Malavoor.

The Bajpe police who are guarding the site have been working round the clock for the past four days. Bajpe police station has 1 SI, 2 ASIs, 10 Head Constables, 21 PCs and 2 Women PCs. The police personnel who are on duty were seen having food on the road side on Tuesday.  

‘Singode belief’

In Tulu culture no auspicious programmes are held on the following day of Sankramana. The next day of Sankramana is called ‘Singode.’

It is believed that if any auspicious programmes are organised on that day, it will have some bad luck. Incidentally, Integrated Terminal at Bajpe was inaugurated on May 15 and it was ‘Singode.’

 Sameer instant hero

Mangalore, 25 May 2010: Disaster management is the need of the hour during any disasters. Mohammed Sameer of Maravoor who first saw the Mangalore air tragedy incident while returning from mosque after prayer applied his mind and made a quick decision of calling the police control room within seconds of the incident. This helped the police to respond quickly. 

 
“I was returning from Maravoor mosque after morning prayers and heard a sound of an aircraft readying for landing. Within few seconds, I heard some loud sound which made me look at the runway on the hillock. I  saw aircraft sliding down the hillock.”

“Immediately I called the control room. They took down my name, cell number and address. Within few minutes, Bajpe police called me and asked me the nearest way to reach the spot. I gave them all the details. Within few minutes, even Police Commissioner called me and asked me to go to the spot with the locals and all give possible help to the victims.”

“I along with other friends walked to the spot using the nearest possible path. After we rescued a woman, we heard a kid screaming. When we went to pull her out, there was a loud blast and the aircraft broke into further pieces,” he informed.

Sameer said that within a few minutes, he could see the airport fire engines spraying water from atop the cliff. They sprayed water for 10 minutes. However, they could not reach the burning aircraft. Later, they came near the spot for spraying water.

In press meet held on Monday, Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh lauded the efforts of Sameer and also head constables Chandra and Vittal Saphalya at the control room and ASI Krishna Bhat at the district control room for their quick response.