MP govt to award Rs 2 lakh each to two excavator machine drivers who helped avert disaster

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], August 15 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh each for two drivers of earth-moving machines who helped avert a disaster after a dam wall breach in Dhar district.
Addressing an Independence Day function at the Motilal Nehru Stadium in state capital Bhopal amid heavy rainfall, Chouhan said the danger was looming large following a leakage reported in the under-construction dam on the Karam river three days back.
“But this danger has now been averted. This was the best example of disaster management,” he said.
He said the operators of poclain machines (earth-moving equipment) endangered their lives to make way for the safe release of water from the dam and avert the disaster.
“The state government will honour these earth-moving machine drivers with Rs two lakh each,” Chouhan said.
In view of this development, real life hero, Sunil Baghel, who was one of the operators of the poclain machines, gave insights about his work to ANI today.
“I thank Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for declaring a reward amount of Rs 2 lakh,” he told ANI.
“It was difficult to work in that situation. There was risk involved. People’s lives had to be saved, so we kept working continuously. We made use of poclain slowly and steadily while working in a scientific manner,” he said.
The operator told ANI that it was his duty to save the village. “It was necessary to drain the water to other channel. I was also feeling afraid while I was on my way to the site. We used the machine in a systematic way,” he said.
Evacuation efforts are going on after the wall of the Karam dam in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar was breached and water began flowing on Sunday. Water from the Dhar-Karam dam was released in a planned manner but due to the rapid flow, erosion of soil started to take place.
The administration said conditions will be back to normal soon.
Speaking on the water breach and the rapid evacuation operations taken out by the teams of disaster management, Chouhan on Sunday had stressed that water discharge is now very little and it will end slowly.
Pointing to the successful operation by the teams of SDRF, CM Chouhan said, “Efforts to hold the water at the Karam dam is the best example of disaster management.”
“The people of the affected village can return to their village and can celebrate Independence Day tomorrow at their homes,” Chouhan said on Sunday. (ANI)