Nurse Sabeena ziplined across river to save 35 lives in Waynad
Syed Ali Mujtaba / Chennai:
A Hijabi, Muslim nurse, Ms A. Sabeena, who saved over 35 human lives after the Wayanad landslides was honored by the Tamil Nadu government for her exemplary courage.
Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin especially invited Sabeena to the state secretariat and honored her with the Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise.
The citation given to Sabeena reads; “As the rescue team was hesitant, the courageous and committed Ms. Sabeena came forward to go to the other side of the river. In spite of continuous rain, by wearing a raincoat and tightly holding the first aid kit, she travelled without any fear.”
Sabeena’s daring act came into the limelight only a few days ago when the volunteers from her village began circulating a video of her zip-lining across a raging river in a ravaged swathe of Wayanad, Kerala to save lives.
She treated people who had been bitten by snakes, wounded in the landslide and many had cough, cold and fever. The video of her brave act went viral on social media and reached TN CM. M.K Stalin who called her to recognize her courage.
The bridge over the Mundakkai-Suralmalai river had collapsed, leaving dozens people stranded on the other side of the island. The National Defence Reserve Force created a rope-way or zip line to cross over to the other side. The 40-year-old nurse from Gudalur town in the Nilgiris district did the daring act without any hesitation or fear.
“I clung to the rope and closed my eyes and prayed to Allah as I went across the river. Even though it took two minutes to cross the river, it was a spine-chilling act because of the raging waters beneath me was furious with bodies being swept away under me,“ said the mother of a daughter after receiving the award at Fort Saint George, the TN state secretariat
Sabeena’s daughter Shifna, a nursing student, who was also present on the occasion said, ‘the biggest lesson her mom taught her was that humanity is above everything else in the world. Her WhatsApp status reads- ‘There’s no one in this world braver than my mom.’