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SOPs to be revised, says official after Odisha scribe drowns covering rescue op
Two journalists accompanied a five-member ODRAF team that was deployed to rescue the elephant stranded at Mundali barrage in the Mahanadi river in Odisha
A day after a local TV journalist drowned while covering a botched Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) operation to rescue an elephant from the Mahanadi river, the state government on Saturday said the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for such operations will be reviewed.
In a tweet, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority managing director Pradeep Jena said he has requested the police chief to review the SOPs. ODRAF members are drawn from the Odisha Police.
“No outsider, civilian or media should be part of any rescue mission,” Jena tweeted.
Two journalists accompanied a five-member ODRAF team that was deployed to rescue the elephant stranded at Mundali barrage in the Mahanadi.
Arindam Das downed when an inflatable boat carrying them overturned.
His colleague, cameraman Prabhat Sinha, who was rescued, was recovering at a local hospital.
On Saturday, another body was recovered from the Mahanadi river, a few km away from Mundali barrage. The body was believed to be that of Sitaram Murmu, an ODRAF diver, who was part of the rescue operation. But Murmu’s family said it was his body.
The operation has faced criticism with officials questioning why the ODRAF jawans were sent to rescue the elephant while their mandate is to operate in disaster situations.
Forest officials separately said the elephant was not seen in the river on Saturday and they suspect it may have been washed away as well.
