These advanced drones can carry meals for up to 10 people at one go, and deliver them to those working in challenging environments.
Published Aug 05, 2024 | 1:47 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 05, 2024 | 2:16 PM
Drones distributing the food. (Supplied)
Hoping against hope, search and rescue personnel from various agencies are sifting through the debris at the landslides-hit Chooralmala and adjoining villages in Kerala’s district.
Far from the rescuers, and medical professionals in hospitals, many more are working round the clock behind the scenes, providing crucial support to the frontline operators.
Several organisations had been providing food and other necessities, until the state government cited safety concerns to stop the distribution of meals by charity organisations.
Wayanad District Collector DR Meghasree said food safety is a concern, especially for the military personnel.
No other organization will be allowed to distribute food except government community kitchen.
PK Firoz, general secretary of the Muslim Youth League, told South First that the White Brigade volunteers are ready to restart food distribution whenever the government requests.
“Currently, the main concerns are the safety of army personnel and approval by food safety officials. Apart from the army, many volunteers are working there,” he said.
The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association is managing the community kitchen set up at the Government Polytechnic College in Meppadi near Chooralmala.
The terrain, made hostile by the landslides, threw up a daunting challenge in reaching the meals to the frontline. It was then drones came to the rescue.
Each advanced drone being used could deliver up to 10 meal packets, and they complement the manned-vehicle-based approach, ensuring swift and efficient support to those out in the field.
Overseen by the state Food and Safety Department, the association has been delivering 7,000 meal packets daily. It said the food is now being delivered free of cost.
#WayanadLandslides: Drones Revolutionize Food Delivery for Rescue Workers in #Wayanad
In Wayanad, a new initiative is enhancing food delivery to rescue workers through the use of modern drones. These advanced drones can carry meals for up to ten people at once, delivering… pic.twitter.com/7wWibzOoLK
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) August 5, 2024
Meanwhile, officials said an 18-member team stranded near a waterfall in the forest is safe.
One of the group members told a news channel over the phone that they had found the body of a man killed in the landslides, and it took them two-and-a-half hours to retrieve the body on Sunday, 4 July, evening. Though the body was airlifted, the team was left stranded.
“We are safe,” the group member said, adding that a Thunderbolt team was expected soon. Thunderbolts are Kerala police’s elite commando unit, engaged mostly in anti-Maoist operations.
Meanwhile, the official death toll in the series of landslides stood at 222, which included 97 men, 88 women and 37 children. However, independent media houses reported that the toll has crossed 360.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said 172 bodies have been identified. The search parties have also found 180 body parts, of which post-mortem examinations were conducted on 161.
Ninety-one people are under treatment in various hospitals in Wayanad, and the neighbouring Kozhikode, and Malappuram districts. As many as 256 people have been discharged, the CMO said.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula with inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman, and PTI)
