Commandos turn ministering angels

 

Trained to save lives ...
It came like a bolt from the blues when ravaging tsunami waters obliterated several villages and towns in the Ampara and the Kalmunai districts sweeping away children and adults who desperately clung on to whatever they could to avoid being drowned.
Few were lucky enough to stay alive while others were drowned in the marauding flood waters. It was an apocalypse which brought death and devastation to property in Komari area. Several hours later the flood waters receded. Those who were left behind became destitute overnight. Komari village is located between Thirukovil and Potuvil areas.
There was no food or drinking water left behind for survivors and it was at this stage the Special Task Force (STF) personnel scattered in camps across Batticaloa and Ampara districts came to the rescue hapless villagers. While the tsunami waters were raging eight STF personnel of sustained injuries trying to rescue children and adults from drowning. Everything in Komari was swept away by tsunami waters.
The situation became worse when several villages in the Ampara and Batticaloa area were cut off owing to collapsing bridges from Arugam Bay to Panama, from Potuvil to Akkaraipattu and from Akkaraipattu to Batticaloa.
 
 
 
  Due to the limited number of helicopters available for such rescue missions air drops of food and water became impossibility. More over this was a widespread national disaster and helicopters were mobilized in other areas as well. The only way to reach people in trapped villages was through jungle paths and the STF personnel knew these routes like the lines on their own palms.
The other way to get to these villages was by boat. The distribution of food among displaced persons became a military sort of operation. The STF commandos trained to act during a crisis volunteered their services and vowed to help tsunami victims.
The Commandant of the Special Task Force, DIG Nimal Leuke said STF officers undertook the task of providing food and water to those trapped in villages. Reaching people by road became inaccessible due to collapsed bridges. They just couldn't let people starve to death just because food supplies to these areas were cut off. There wasn't even drinking water for their survival. STF personnel had to devise a plan to overcome this impasse.
What they did was to collect rations from their 14 bases stretched from Batticaloa to Panama to feed displaced persons until relief supplies arrived. While tsunami waters lashed in, several persons were rescued from drowning by STF personnel.
After the water receded they found around 1000 bodies and helped to bury around 800 in mass graves.
It was estimated that around 11,000 people perished in the Akkaripattu area alone. The magnitude of the disaster was so enormous that there were 140,000 displaced persons in 136 refugee camps stretching all the way from Batticaloa to Panama area.
STF also managed to evacuate 78 foreigners from Sasthraveli into safer terrain. All displaced persons were provided with dry rations like biscuits till food stocks were brought in by the Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) three days later. DIG Leuke said that the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation's (TRO) have protested over the presence of the STF officers at Divisional Secretariat Offices without valid reasons.
STF's presence was necessary to prevent distribution of food falling into the wrong hands. However people in tsunami affected areas have expressed their solidarity and gratefulness to STF for the manner in which they handled the situation despite allegations by TRO's.
Meanwhile normalcy is gradually returning to these areas with the number of refugee camps receding to 92 with 100,000 displaced persons in them. OICC of STF camps have been instructed to visit refugee camps regularly and report shortcomings of rations, medicine, drinking water, toilet facilities, security, etc. to Government Agents in these areas.