Pinke Par, Gondia:
A 50-year-old man spent an entire night on top of a temple and then on an adjacent tree in Maharashtra's Gondia district before being rescued by policemen and local activists this morning. The incident took place due to heavy floods in the river nearby.
Babulal Chatterjee, a priest at the famous Shiva temple in Pindke Par in Gondia district was busy preparing for a puja when he was caught unaware by the surging waters which surrounded the temple, making it impossible for him to escape.
After having spent the whole night in the precarious situation, he was found screaming for help this morning by people passing by who tried to alert the helpline at the district collectorate. But ironically, the 24X7 control room for disaster management did not respond to repeated calls and the police were called in who managed to reach the tree to rescue the frightened man, using a motorboat and long ropes.
The man, who miraculously survived, thanked the rescuers profusely for saving his life.