Kannur, April 10 : It was an unprecedented rescue operation, never seen before in Kerala's Kannur district, when authorities toiled hard and people lent support. The conclusion brought happiness all around, and people thanked each other for the success.

The victim in distress was a sparrow caught in a glass showcase of a textile shop. The shop at Ullikal near here was locked under the directions of the Kerala High Court following a legal tangle between a few people and has not been opened for the past six months.

As per reports, the desperate chirping of a bird had caught everyone's attention, and the matter reached Kannur District Collector Arun K. Vijayan. He immediately directed the Ullikal local body secretary to see what could be done to rescue the sparrow.

Vijayan, after getting to know the details, spoke to the officials in the Kerala High Court on Thursday. The High Court then passed on the information to the Kannur district judge.

At 10.30 a.m., the Kannur district judge, Nissar Ahamed, came to the spot along with local government officials and directed the shop to be opened.

In a matter of 15 minutes, the two locks were opened, and then the glass door leading to the showcase was also opened.

The rattled sparrow, sensing some danger, tried to flutter away, as one of the rescuers caught hold of it

As the man came out of the shop, the officials and the crowd roared and cheered. The man then raised his hand and gently released the sparrow to its freedom. The sparrow took to the skies and then sat on the branch of a tree.

"I would like to thank the locals and then the media that brought this to the attention of authorities. The authorities also acted quickly, and this became a reality,' said Ahamed.

Reports said that it was first on Wednesday that the locals noticed that a small sparrow had got trapped in between the shutter and the glass showcase.

First, the locals spoke to the local Fire Force and then the Forest officials, but since being entangled in a High Court directive, both these agencies expressed their inability to lend help.

Later, the locals somehow managed to give water and foodgrains through the little space on a side of the showcase. The locals pointed out a very small opening on one side of the shutter through which the sparrow had fallen in it, and despite its best efforts, it failed to come out through the same opening.

/IANS