Idukki: Search and rescue efforts are still on, battling the unfavourable weather conditions at Pettimudi in Rajamala, Idukki, Kerala; a region which has been devastated in the recent landslide killing at least 48 persons. Many more missing persons are yet to be found.
The police dogs Lilly and Donna, trained at the Police Training Academy at Thrissur have joined the search and rescue operations, along with the rescue teams in Pettimudi. The dogs, which can sense the pulse of life, and also the dead, anywhere under the mud, rocks and debris have been sent on this special mission even before they have completed their training.
Lilly and Donna are now engaged in looking for those who have gone missing on the night of landslide at Rajamala. The unexpected landslide in this area had washed away two of the line houses (Layam in Malayalam- long, thatched blocks of individual quarters for the estate workers) and the area remains devasted. The search and rescue operations difficult due to the rains which continue to pound the area and the accessibility issues.
The dogs, which can sense the pulse of life even under the mud or debris, are looking for those who could not be found yet since the night of landslide here.
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10-month old Lilly of Belgium Malinois breed, nicknamed Maya, has been deputed for the special duty even before she could complete her training with the Police Academy at Thrissur. Lilly and her friend Donna have been sent on the special mission to Pettimudi by the State Police Chief Loknath Behara.
Lilly and Donna belong to the new batch of 35 fresh dog trainees, of the two batches currently undergoing training and preparations to join the police team. Two dogs, including Lilly, have got special training to locate and find the dead bodies under the soil. Lilly has already helped to trace the bodies of three people who had gone missing in the landslide at Pettimudi.
Donna, who has also reached along with Lilly, at Rajamala, has been specially trained to locate a life entrapped under the soil. She can sense the pulse of life underneath and help in the rescue operations. Donna belongs to the Working Labrador breed. She can work continuously, without any rest for up to 5 hours.
P G Suresh, a senior Civil Police Officer, is the trainer of Donna and Lilly. P Prabhath is Lilly’s handler and George Manuel K S is Donna’s handler.
The other dog’s in the batch are being trained for search operations in forest areas and for locating explosives. Besides, they are also specially trained to help in the investigation of theft, robbery, murder and such offences. The dogs have been bought from the Punjab Police’s training centre.
Eight other dogs with the Kerala Police have been given special training to find narcotic substances. These dogs who have completed their training and have joined the dog squads in the different District police camps of Kerala. They have already found 5 such cases.
More dogs would be bought and specially trained for specific purposes to help in the investigations, said State Police Chief DGP Loknath Behara. Eight more dogs of high breed quality would be bought soon. They would be trained to help with the rescue operations. After training, the dogs would be deputed to the dog squads in 8 districts of Kerala.
Presently, all the districts in Kerala have their own dog squads. Kerala police currently have a strength of 150 dogs in all the squads. Besides, the 19 dogs which have retired from service live at ‘Vishranthi’, the rest house for the retired police dogs, at the Thrissur Police Academy premises.
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