Divers who are heroes of rescue ops in Mangaluru

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Nov 22, 2016: Zakir Hussain, 28, Mohammed Wasim, 33, Hasan, 42, Mohammed Javed, 28, and Sadiq, 32, from Tannirbavi are fishermen, but are more popularly known for their extraordinary skills in diving and rescue operations during a drowning.  This team of five cousins consider rescue work their true vocation.

In fact, it was Zakir and the cousins who played a major role in fishing out the bodies when the shoot of Duniya Vijay-starrer Maasti Gudi turned into a tragedy at Tippagondanahalli reservoir in Bengaluru. While the cousins were successful in saving over 100 lives in the past 10 years, their urge to serve with no caste bias make them saviours.

Villagers of Tannirbavi offered them a warm reception soon after they returned from Tippagondanahalli. The felicitation ceremony organized by Green Star Sports Club of Tannirbavi instilled more confidence in Zakir and his cousins.

DYFI state president Muneer Katipalla said it is a matter of pride for everyone along the coast to know that those who worked hard to recover bodies from the reservoir are Mangalureans. "Sadly, Mangaluru is always in the news for communal clashes, killings and moral policing.

However, five cousins from Tannirbavi have showed us the real meaning of co-existence through their yeoman’s service, expecting no returns. Dakshina Kannada district administration, police, fire and emergency officials remember them whenever there is a mishap in a river/sea," he said. He suggested they be given jobs as official rescue workers.