Kalagarla Sahiti (16) of Visakhapatnam has done Andhra Pradesh proud by bagging the ‘Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak’. The award, which is usually given on the Republic Day in Delhi, was conferred on her by President Ram Nath Kovind through virtual mode in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The award is given for an exemplary act in saving someone’s life.
Hailing from Kothakota village of Ravikamatham mandal, Sahiti is studying Intermediate first year at Sri Viswa Junior College at Madhurawada in the city. She was barely 14, when she put her life at risk to save two children from drowning.
A group of children were taken to the Revu Polavaram beach of S. Rayavaram mandal in the district, by their parents for a picnic on November 4, 2018. Sahiti had also gone to the beach along with her parents. A few children broke away from the group and went into the water for a dip and two of them – Tirumalesu (6) and Bhargavi (8) – started drifting into the deep.
Rescue act
“Their parents started shouting for help as none of them knew swimming. I jumped into the water without a second thought. I carried Tirumalesu on my shoulder, while pulling Bhargavi with one hand and using the other hand and feet to swim ashore,” says Sahiti, vividly recalling the incident to The Hindu on Tuesday.
“Sahiti learnt swimming when she was 8, at a swimming pool in Anakapalle. She also learnt to perform yogasanas while staying afloat on water. She has 32 medals, world records and prizes. She is also good at academics and scored over 95% in the ninth class but in the 10th class marks were not given in view of COVID-19,” says her mother Nagajyothi, the headmistress of the Mandal Parishad School in Ravikamatham.
“I remained afloat on water for five hours carrying three flags, one with my mouth and one each with my hands during the Sankranti holidays recently. I wanted to perform the feat on the Republic Day but as I am staying in the college hostel, it was not allowed there in view of the pandemic threat.” she says. Her ambition is to join the IIT.
