A groundnut farmer from Karnataka has been hailed a hero by fellow residents for braving fire and saving at least 100 houses from getting burnt. Hailing from Jammanakatti village in Bagalkot district of Karnataka, Yankappa, 28, jumped inside a burning tractor and drove it into a pond.
On Monday, November 12, at around 4 PM, the tractor was on a narrow road of the village with houses on either side. That is when the hay stacked on the tractor came in contact with an electrical line and caught fire. The 20 ft high haystack started burning rapidly and it spread. Initially, residents gathered around and tried to douse the fire with water, but it was unmanageable.
“I could have escaped to safety, but the tractor would have destroyed several homes and shattered families. I just had to act, and I did,” Yenkappa told The Times of India over the phone. He further said, “The residents of the village came forward to show me the way and told me that the best thing to do was to drive the tractor into the lake,” reported The News Minute.
He kept his calm and jumped inside the tractor and started driving even as he could feel the heat from the fire on his back. In the meantime, people started filming his heroic deed. When he reached the lake, he dove right in the water. The tractor was half submerged and slowly the fire was doused.
“The whole thing took place within 20 minutes and Yankappa showed great composure to ensure that the fire did not spread anywhere else in the village,” said Manjunatha, a resident of the village who was at the scene of the incident. Yankappa further said that he lost Rs 30,000 because of this, and is expecting a compensation and has requested the Tahsildar for the same.
The Logical Indian applauds Yankappa’s show of courage and presence of mind. So many houses could have been burnt to the ground because of the mishap. We hope the district administration recognises his efforts and compensates him for his loss.
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