Well-known for their emergency response and rescue services, members of the elite mine rescue team of the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) have been deployed in Medaram which is all set to host the historic four-day Sammakka Saralamma jathara in Mulugu district from Wednesday.
As many as 60 members of the SCCL rescue team have been stationed at vantage positions near the gaddelu (altar) and bus stand in Medaram to help the district administration deal with any emergency situation during the country’s largest tribal congregation scheduled to start on Wednesday.
The mega tribal fair is expected to draw more than 1 crore devotees from far and wide predominantly from the coal belt and tribal heartland of Telangana.
These well trained and equipped rescue team members have been drawn from the SCCL’s Godavarikhani, Kothagudem, Bhupalpally, Srirampur, Mandamarri and Bellampalli coal mining areas, SCCL sources said.
The SCCL’s rescue team has a distinguished track record in mine emergency response and rescue services.
The team proved its capabilities by extending timely rescue services during natural calamities like the devastation caused by the worst ever floods in Krishna River in the undivided Andhra Pradesh during 2009.
It also extended services during the Godavari Pushakaralu, the once-in-12-years mega religious fete, held in various parts of Telangana in 2015, SCCL sources added.
A total of 60 members of the SCCL rescue team have been deployed in Medaram to offer their services round the clock in shift system during the four-day historic jatara, said the Godavarikhani-based SCCL’s Mines Rescue Station superintendent Madhava Rao.
Speaking to The Hindu, he said the rescue team members will be available 24x7 at the main venue of the jatara to deal with any emergency situation and provide timely rescue as well as first aid services.
