SALEM: A pack of seven dogs stranded on a patch of land in the middle of a brimming Cauvery near Mettur dam for three days without food, were fed biryani using a drone by fire and rescue services personnel on Friday.
All the dogs are set to be rescued on Sunday.
The rescuers are awaiting the arrival of another drone with a carrying capacity of 30kg for the purpose.The fire services personnel have roped in GEOTechnoValley, a company that specializes in drone services, for the opeartion.
“We will assemble the drone on Saturday. Since the day happens to be Aadi 18, there would be a huge crowd on the riverside,” said P Sarveswaran, director and CEO of the company. The plight of the stranded dogs came to light when a drone video of the water gushing from the 16-channel sluice gates of Mettur dam went viral on Thursday. The initial drone visual spotted only a black dog in the riverine islet formed after the heavy flow in Cauvery.
Mettur fire station house officer K P Venkatesan contacted Sarveshwaran, who provides drone services every Aadi 18 in Mettur to drop life jackets to people caught in the water currents. Only then did the officials notice six more dogs stranded there. They found that three days ago when the outflow from Mettur dam increased, a few residents of the area attempted to chase away the dogs roaming close to the riverbank.
Instead of moving away from the river, the dogs ran further onto the dry riverbed, which was then engulfed by the released water. On Sunday, the officials plan to deploy a heavy-duty drone with food in a cage-like structure. Once the dog enters the cage, the door will shut and it can be lifted from the islet, Sarveshwaran said.