The last few days has seen Bengaluru go under water like never before. Water logging and the problems in its wake — lack of electricity, shortage of drinking water and rations, stranded animals — became commonplace overnight. WhatsApp messages offering help in some of these situations began doing the rounds.
One of these was a poster by Dirty Drivez, an off-roading club in the city, offering their services to bail out people or vehicles. Run by a group of eight friends — Melbin Michael, Sujith Joseph, Santhosh Kumar, Sarvana S, Arun Sasidhar, Girish M, Kiran B, Sasi Kumar and Santhosh Mesthiri — the club had heavy-duty vehicles used to ploughing through rough terrain at their disposal.
“We have also had some experience in rescue operations during the Kerala floods. So after seeing photos and videos of people in distress we swung into action,” says Melbin Joseph, founder of Dirty Drivez, adding that their fleet of airboats from Decathalon, marine fibre boats with portable engines from Honda and modified Thars was put into good use during this time.
