Ex-IAF man's solution for those stuck in floods

Stuck in flashfloods in cities or in floods in rural Assam this Monsoon?

A retired IAF sergeant from Assam, now living in Bengaluru has an answer for emergency shelter. The IAF veteran has prepared an "almost zero-cost" raft using two bamboos and four car tubes, which can be used as a shelter for a small family with their belongings during such a disaster.

"The six feet long and four feet wide raft can provide shelter to a family. If tubes of truck or bus are used, the raft be made bigger for eight to 10 persons. This can be very useful for people in flood-prone state like Assam. I have seen how people in Assam villages often risk their lives and swim to safer places during floods. Almost all households in Assam has bamboo and so if such raft is prepared in every household, many drowning deaths can be prevented," the IAF veteran, Bikash Kumar Das told DH.

Das, who retired as a combatant paramedic of IAF in April 2002, hails from Kalaigaon in central Assam's Udalguri district. He now lives in Bimanpura HAL in Bengaluru.

"This can also be useful for residents in cities like Mumbai, Chennai or the areas in Bengaluru, that witness flash floods following heavy rains. They can use the fibre pipes instead of the bamboo to make the rafts. Since it is risky to walk on the streets during flash floods, this raft can help avoid casualty," Das said.