When water was discharged from the Red Hills Lake last week, the Home Guards rushed to evacuate more than 300 people from the low-lying areas.
The recent rains saw many people from all walks of life come together to help people in need. One group that played a vital role in rescuing hundreds of people from waterlogged areas was the Tamil Nadu Home Guards.
The areas of Tambaram and Madipakkam saw heavy waterlogging due to the torrential rains last week. The water was well over five feet and practically all the houses in these areas were flooded. The Tamil Nadu Home Guards worked relentlessly for two days in these areas wading through dirty water, unmindful of the contamination and the snakes, to help those in distress. When water was discharged from the Red Hills Lake last week, the Home Guards rushed to evacuate more than 300 people from the low-lying areas.
Home Guards with the Tamil Nadu police at Madhavaram. Image credit: Sanjay Bhansali
“12 Home Guards actually did the work of rowing the boats and getting around 400 people to safety. But more than 300 of us were involved in supplementary work during this time,” explains Sanjay Bhansali, Area Commander (Chennai North), Tamil Nadu Home Guards.
The Tamil Nadu Home Guards consists of regular citizens who apply to become a member when vacancies are announced by the state government. If selected, they are given a month’s training before they are put on work on the ground. The heavy rains in Chennai last week was an emergency situation that called for their service. There are four Area Commanders in Chennai and they took the initiative of also organising food and distributing it where it was needed, such as places like Pulianthope, Tambaram and Madipakkam.
“Many of the Home Guards live in more in the suburbs and quite a lot of their houses were waterlogged. But despite that they came in for service to help others,” adds Bhansali. Many of the Home Guards have been trained in rescue operations and they also have a boat on standby for emergency.
In fact, the Joint Commissioner North, Dinanakaran, recognised four Home Guards for their extraordinary work during the Chennai rains at a recent Crime Review Meeting.
Joint Commissioner North, Dinanakaran, recognised four Home Guards for their valiant work. Image credit: Sanjay Bhansali
‘Nishkam Sewa’ or service to the community is the Tamil Nadu Home Guards motto and this is precisely what they have been doing for years. The work of this group of citizens may not be recognised much but they play a vital role in protecting the people in the city.
With their work for the Chennai rains slowly coming to an end, the Tamil Nadu Home Guards is now gearing up for duty during the state elections in 2016.
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