KALPETTA: Kalpetta Fire and Rescue team has adopted a cat, which was submerged in mud at the landslide spot and was rescued by the fire and rescue team the cat will now live in Kalpetta Fire Station.
The members of the Scuba diving team that arrived from Thiruvananthapuram were the ones who spotted the cat at Mundakkai on Thursday during their rescue mission. "The cat was found alive among debris covered in mud the cat was cleaned and brought it to the Kalpetta Fire Station. They couldn't leave the cat at the landslide spot. Kalpetta Fire Station was the reporting office of the Scuba divers from Thiruvananthapuram. Arriving at the fire station, the cat immediately caught the attention of the station staff. Soon it became the sweetheart of around 50 personnel in the Kalpetta Fire Station," said Ashif E K, fire and rescue officer, Mananthavady.
The fire station staff named the cat Nyla, which means the achiever. The cat is being fed with milk and eggs. " When Nyla arrived, she was tired. Now, she is in better health and is playful and affectionate," said a station staffer. Recently, two puppies rescued from the Chooralmala site were handed over to the military and police special defence group.
At the same time, the animal husbandry department officials informed that they are ready to hand over the domestic animals, including cattle stranded in the landslide, to nearby dairy farmers who are willing to adopt them after providing necessary treatment. The names of the dairy farmers adopting the animals will be accurately recorded.
A 24-hour control room of the animal husbandry department functioning at Chooralmala is carrying out the adoption procedures. Domestic animals and birds found alive and dead from disaster-affected areas including Chooralmala and Mundakkai will be brought to the control room first. The team consisting of veterinarians and field officers is working in two batches here. With the help of the fire force, the doctor and the field officer put the small animals in cages and brought the big animals in the ambulance to the panchayat veterinary hospital in Meppadi.
At present, the animals are provided food and water through NGOs and volunteers. Animal husbandry department district officer Dr Rajesh informed that in the current situation, as per the protocol, postmortem of dead animals is not required. Arrangements were also made to destroy animal body parts obtained from the incident site at Meppadi.