Standing knee-deep in layers of thick, slimy mud settled everywhere, they dug, scrapped and pushed shovels of mud off the narrow path leading to the anganwadi near Kozhithuruthu in North Paravur.
Because of how thick the mud was, it could not be pumped out. Instead, they carried it on their shoulders, bucket by bucket.
As the receding floodwaters slowly revealed the extent of damage downstream of the Periyar, an army of over 2,500 policemen have descended on the Ernakulam Rural district to remove mud and debris that came surging down the river and flowed into streets, backyards, and homes.
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Regarded as the single-most volunteer clean-up team, its members are armed with tools and operate under instructions from various police stations in Paravur and Aluva—the regions most affected by the raging floods last week.
Led by two Deputy Superintendents of Police, the drive is overseen by Rahul R. Nair, Superintendent of Police (SP), Ernakulam Rural.
According to officials, nearly half the policemen in the group have been mobilised from outside units including the Coastal Police. “The team started up on August 20, with their knees in muck and mud and all debris that came down the river. The progress has been phenomenal, and there is just no way we could have done this without this team,” Mr. Nair said. As part of the drive, men have been sent in five-member groups to different locations, based on details collected from the respective station house officers.
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“The priority of our operations are institutions for public welfare such as anganwadis, schools, and Primary Health Centres. Then, we focus on people who cannot hire help,” the officer added.
Beginning from the economically backward region of Sathar Island in Paravur, the group is all set to accomplish its target later this week. Meanwhile, sources rued the lack of support from the civic administration for the police drive.
“Inputs from them [civic administration] could have helped us a lot in terms of prioritising the areas of operation, but as they are less in number, support from local bodies was not up to the mark,” they held.