No Training, Pure Courage! 25-Year-Old Man Saves Nearly 2,000 Lives In Assam Floods

In a remarkable gesture of courage and humanity, a 25-year-old man in Assam saved almost 2,000 lives in the floods that devastated parts of Assam for the past few days. Shravan Kumar, an untrained rescuer, acted swiftly on July 19 by walking to the banks of the Dikhow River in Bihubor to undertake one of the most extraordinary rescue efforts during the floods. 
On the morning of the 19th, Shravan, as usual, came to collect floating logs that swept downstream, a source of income for those who do not use LPG cylinders. He saw that tree trunks crash through the water with unusual force, and having grown up beside the Dikhow. 

As Sharvan sensed, by the afternoon, floodwaters had submerged the region. Even his own house was not spared; his family members gathered all belongings, set to leave the house. However, the 25-year-old decided to stay back and save the remaining villagers.

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Class 10 Dropout Leads Rescue Op

The Class 10 dropout has had no training or a motorised boat, but still chose to stand by the helpless. Shravan, along with a few villagers, launched a rescue operation into waters that even experienced boatmen were too afraid to enter.

Vehicles and houses have been destroyed in the floods (ANI)

From 10 am that day through the night and into the next, the team worked tirelessly to help the villagers. The group pulled children from submerged homes, carried elderly residents unable to move on their own, and rescued pregnant women and patients trapped on rooftops and in ceiling spaces as water rose around them.

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"It was very scary because we were working at night in complete darkness. People were on the rooftops because their houses were flooded, and we had to rescue them," Shravan said.

Using the traditional Tulunga boat, Shravan and his companions evacuated several villages.  By the time the rescue operation was over, Shravan estimates that he and his team had rescued approximately 2,000 people in five villages.

Death Toll Rises To 82 In Assam

The flashfloods on July 19 devastated many lives across the Nazira Co-District of Sivasagar, submerging villages, washing away roads and knocking out electricity and communication networks, leaving families with no option but to climb onto rooftops as the water kept rising.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the death toll has risen to 82 during the past 24 hours. The ASDMA said the Dikhow River at Sivasagar and the Dhansiri River at Numaligarh in Golaghat district continued to flow above the danger mark.

The floods have affected 349 villages across the Golaghat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Bajali, Dhemaji, Sonitpur, and Jorhat districts. Charaideo remains the worst-hit district with 75,199 people affected, followed by Sivasagar, where 58,824 people have been impacted.