CHENNAI: As a nurse, A Sabeena isn’t any stranger to sufferers hanging between life and demise. The Wayanad landslides of July 30 left the 40-year-old clinging to 1 such skinny line — a zipper line throughout a raging river in a ravaged swathe of the Kerala pocket to save lives.
“It took two minutes to cross the river. It was spine-chilling due to the raging waters beneath me.I simply closed my eyes and prayed as I went throughout,” Sabeena stated Thursday, recalling she noticed our bodies being swept away beneath her.
The only mother zip-lined 10 instances over 5 days throughout the Mundakkai-Suralmalai river, saving 35 lives. A bridge over the river had collapsed, leaving dozens stranded on an island on the opposite facet.
This Independence Day, the native of Gudalur city in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district was talking after receiving the “Kalpana Chawla Award for daring and brave enterprise” from Tamil Nadu CM M Ok Stalin, who had particularly invited her to the secretariat for the honour.
Rewinding to July 30 when entry was minimize off throughout the river, the hero who stepped as much as the problem reminisced about that morning. “It was 11am on July 30 after I obtained a name from colleagues on the NGO the place I work, saying the Kerala govt wanted nurses in Wayanad,” stated Sabeena.
Sabeena packed her baggage, travelled 70km to Wayanad, braving heavy rain, winds and knee-deep sludge, to achieve the ravaged space at 11am. “I had seen footage of the destruction, of our bodies strewn all over the place and homes washed away however that didn’t cease me,” Sabeena stated.
With currents being too robust for rescuers to swim throughout, NDRF groups had strung up a zip-line throughout the river. “Round 100 girls nurses had been engaged in varied duties. NDRF forces wished solely male nurses to zip-line, however nobody was accessible. Additionally, the ladies had been too scared due to the fierce currents. I informed them I might cross over. My solely thought was saving lives. I didn’t take into consideration my very own life,” stated Sabeena.
5 minutes later, sporting a raincoat, Sabeena was strapped to the zip-line. As soon as she rappelled to the opposite facet, she handled individuals who had been bitten by snakes, wounded within the landslide and plenty of with fever.
The white-knuckle rides throughout the river quickly grew to become a routine. She would attain the island at 11am, supply medical assist and return at 5pm. “NDRF forces managed to carry them again utilizing the zip-line. Later, the bridge was crammed up with mud and made accessible,” Sabeena stated, referring to the 35 individuals who had been rescued.
Sabeena’s derring-dos got here into the highlight only some days in the past when volunteers from her village started circulating movies of her zip-lining. “The put up went viral and reached CM Stalin. I’m so blissful about getting this award from the CM,” stated Sabeena.
What overwhelms her most now’s her daughter’s WhatsApp standing. “For the previous couple of days, my daughter’s standing reads ‘There’s nobody on this world braver than my mother’. Seeing this provides me a lot pleasure,” says Sabeena.
Daughter Shifna, a nursing scholar, stated the largest lesson her mother taught her was that humanity was all the time “prime precedence”.
