KARACHI: The weather forecast predicted rains for later in the week but they arrived a few days early. On Monday, there were three boats loaded atop trailers attached to as many four-wheel drive Toyota jeeps in the parking lot of the headquarters of the Special Security Unit (SSU) near Hasan Square.

Removing their protective covers revealed two boats with rudders and one row boat all painted in impressive blue and red Sindh police colours and ready for all kinds of rain emergencies in the city.

There was also an able team of 17 to 20 young men ready to man the boats and other equipment of the SSU’s Urban Flooding Rescue Unit (UFRU), which comprises the three boats, as many ambulances and two mobile workshops.

Round-the-clock service during rains

DIG-security and emergency services Maqsood Ahmed told Dawn: “The unit is the result of the urban flooding here in last year’s rains. All over the world, there are rescue units to deal with emergencies. And in our Third World country, we cannot even reach our public when they need us and hence begin the blame games.

The pilot project comprises over a dozen policemen, boats, ambulances and mobile workshops

“We needed resources to help our people and for that there were lengthy procedures. We decided to cut the red tape and go for what was the need of the hour. Our human resource was already trained in counterterrorism and watermanship, which we decided to utilise here. They also received further training from the Pakistan Navy and Army.

“We arranged for the boats and other equipment to set up the Urban Flooding Rescue Unit and we linked it to our Madadgar 15 helpline service for easy access to the police. It is a 24/7 service where the police boats will rescue people in case of any flooding during the rains. Also, our mobile workshops will offer additional help in case anyone’s car breaks down,” he explained, adding that the 15 helpline will also launch its free app to help people shortly.

“Logistics is also a community service,” he added.

Trained by navy

Staying true to their motto ‘Proud to protect’, the police commandos said that they were not getting any added incentives for their new assignment.

“Many of us have volunteered to be a part of this unit. We are just glad to serve our unit,” Constable Mohammed Younis told Dawn.

He and his team were busy loading up the boats with bright orange life jackets, lifebuoys and yellow oars that resembled duck feet.

He said that they had recently received three weeks of training from SSG-Navy commandos. “We were a Special Weapons and Tactics [SWAT] squad and we got lifeguard and urban flooding rescue training from the navy,” he said.

The training involves rescuing civilians and calming them down. “We are trained for long endurance in water, carrying people in water. And we were all good swimmers already,” he added.

It was explained that the UFRU is currently a pilot project. “Let’s see how much we can help our people and what more is needed for this. And we will take it from there to grow further,” the constable added.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2021