http://t.co/wpbPzoMwI4
NEW DELHI: Fifteen out of 20 rescuers on board the ill-fated IAF MI-17-V5 chopper were the brave ITBP personnel who had just finished their mission on Tuesday and were heading for their camps so that a fresh batch of their colleagues could take their place.
But, fate had something else in store for them when they along with five Indian Air Force crew members sacrificed their lives after saving thousands of pilgrims in past nine days in flood-hit Uttarakhand.
Nine out of these 15 were part of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team. These nine ITBP men were posted with the NDRF on deputation.
List of missing ITBP, NDRF personnel
All these men were part of the first batch who had landed in Kedarnath area to rescue the pilgrims on June 16-17.
"They were returning after saving more than 20,000 lives of victims of disaster in Kedarnath area. The ITBP search and rescue teams are searching the area near crash site for survivors and bodies of martyrs", said ITBP spokesperson Deepak Pandey.
Out of these 15 personnel, six were from 8th ITBP Battalion (Gauchar). Since only 12 bodies have been recovered so far from the chopper crash site, the paramilitary force still count some of them as 'missing' keeping the hope alive amid the worst fear of losing all of them in the crash.
These ITBP personnel were from different parts of the country. While three of them were from Uttarakhand, others were from Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana and Karnataka.
An official said, "They all boarded the helicopter happily saying good bye to their colleagues on Tuesday afternoon as they were not supposed to join them. They had been there right there from day one, we had decided to replace them with other personnel for rest of the relief works", said a senior home ministry official.
He said, "Their act was truly an act of gallantry during peace time. Saving lives of thousands of persons in such a difficult situation was not an easy task".
But, fate had something else in store for them when they along with five Indian Air Force crew members sacrificed their lives after saving thousands of pilgrims in past nine days in flood-hit Uttarakhand.
Nine out of these 15 were part of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team. These nine ITBP men were posted with the NDRF on deputation.
List of missing ITBP, NDRF personnel
All these men were part of the first batch who had landed in Kedarnath area to rescue the pilgrims on June 16-17.
"They were returning after saving more than 20,000 lives of victims of disaster in Kedarnath area. The ITBP search and rescue teams are searching the area near crash site for survivors and bodies of martyrs", said ITBP spokesperson Deepak Pandey.
Out of these 15 personnel, six were from 8th ITBP Battalion (Gauchar). Since only 12 bodies have been recovered so far from the chopper crash site, the paramilitary force still count some of them as 'missing' keeping the hope alive amid the worst fear of losing all of them in the crash.
These ITBP personnel were from different parts of the country. While three of them were from Uttarakhand, others were from Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana and Karnataka.
An official said, "They all boarded the helicopter happily saying good bye to their colleagues on Tuesday afternoon as they were not supposed to join them. They had been there right there from day one, we had decided to replace them with other personnel for rest of the relief works", said a senior home ministry official.
He said, "Their act was truly an act of gallantry during peace time. Saving lives of thousands of persons in such a difficult situation was not an easy task".
NEW DELHI: The 15-member ITBP-NDRF team feared dead along with five IAF personnel was one of the first to reach the Kedarnath temple site on June 18 after the deluge. And the last achievement they relayed back to the headquarters was, "Sir, we have also cleaned the temple of all the dead bodies, silt and muck."
Having evacuated every single survivor out of the valley, the nine-member NDRF and six-member ITBP teams were relieved of their duty on Tuesday after relentless rescue work over seven days where they lived, ate and slept with thousands of victims. Even under the nauseating stench of decomposing bodies and threat of contamination, they kept at their job.
Now, all that they leave behind is old parents forced to fend for a poor family, a young wife of just seven months of marriage and dilapidated homes that they promised to get repaired on return.
NDRF IG Sandeep Rai Rathore said, "They had worked tirelessly at the temple site sharing their own food with the victims and giving them medicines. They also cleared the area of all bodies to maintain the sanctity of the temple. In fact, only a day before the crash, they told me that they had even cleaned the temple as they did not like it with all the muck, silt and bodies."
For ITBP, it is an even greater loss given that the nine NDRF personnel were drawn from ITBP. Sources said some of the bright talents of the two forces were lost in the accident. It was this team that had played a crucial role in evacuation of over 20,000 pilgrims from Kedarnath valley. It was this team that had even caught some unscrupulous sadhus with over Rs 1.14 crore in cash suspected to have been stolen from the temple chest. It was this team that cleaned the site of bodies.
"It was their time to rest. Not rest in peace," said an ITBP official. The victims included NDRF's 48-year-old second-in-command Nitya Nand Gupta, a trained bomb expert and disaster management professional, who oversaw rescue operations in Kedarnath. ITBP sub-inspector Jayender Prasad, 55, who hailed from Tehri Garhwal and "looked at the rescue operation as a house chore", was decorated with 13 rewards and awards over his long career. Constable Sarvesh Kumar was a trained mountaineer from ITBP's Auli institute and "used his training to good effect".
"They were all well-trained and good boys. We are saddened, but our morale is still high. We will continue to rescue people," ITBP chief Ajay Chadha said.
For their families, the tragedy is difficult to surmount. NDRF constable Sanjeeva Kumar's cousin from Ballia in UP said, "He is the eldest in the family. We spoke to him on June 19 when he expressed concern about the house we are trying to build for the family. It was his dream to get his younger sister married into a good family. Everything has crashed with his death."
ITBP constable Jomon George's family in Alapuzha, Kerala, did not even know of their son's tragedy until it was flashed in the media. A neighbour of the family told TOI, "The family came to know through the media. It is shattered. We are told the force will officially inform the family by this evening."
Constable Sarvesh Kumar's family in Jhansi, UP, is beyond any consolation. "He was married only seven months ago. His wife is returning from her mother's house. Her life is ruined," Kumar's brother Arvind said.
There are still 26 ITBP personnel stationed in Kedarnath who will shortly be airlifted. But for them, it will be a sad farewell to Char Dham. Those who died had hugged them and said "goodbye". Little did anyone know it was their final one...........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDYvMjcjQXIwMTYwNg==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Having evacuated every single survivor out of the valley, the nine-member NDRF and six-member ITBP teams were relieved of their duty on Tuesday after relentless rescue work over seven days where they lived, ate and slept with thousands of victims. Even under the nauseating stench of decomposing bodies and threat of contamination, they kept at their job.
Now, all that they leave behind is old parents forced to fend for a poor family, a young wife of just seven months of marriage and dilapidated homes that they promised to get repaired on return.
NDRF IG Sandeep Rai Rathore said, "They had worked tirelessly at the temple site sharing their own food with the victims and giving them medicines. They also cleared the area of all bodies to maintain the sanctity of the temple. In fact, only a day before the crash, they told me that they had even cleaned the temple as they did not like it with all the muck, silt and bodies."
For ITBP, it is an even greater loss given that the nine NDRF personnel were drawn from ITBP. Sources said some of the bright talents of the two forces were lost in the accident. It was this team that had played a crucial role in evacuation of over 20,000 pilgrims from Kedarnath valley. It was this team that had even caught some unscrupulous sadhus with over Rs 1.14 crore in cash suspected to have been stolen from the temple chest. It was this team that cleaned the site of bodies.
"It was their time to rest. Not rest in peace," said an ITBP official. The victims included NDRF's 48-year-old second-in-command Nitya Nand Gupta, a trained bomb expert and disaster management professional, who oversaw rescue operations in Kedarnath. ITBP sub-inspector Jayender Prasad, 55, who hailed from Tehri Garhwal and "looked at the rescue operation as a house chore", was decorated with 13 rewards and awards over his long career. Constable Sarvesh Kumar was a trained mountaineer from ITBP's Auli institute and "used his training to good effect".
"They were all well-trained and good boys. We are saddened, but our morale is still high. We will continue to rescue people," ITBP chief Ajay Chadha said.
For their families, the tragedy is difficult to surmount. NDRF constable Sanjeeva Kumar's cousin from Ballia in UP said, "He is the eldest in the family. We spoke to him on June 19 when he expressed concern about the house we are trying to build for the family. It was his dream to get his younger sister married into a good family. Everything has crashed with his death."
ITBP constable Jomon George's family in Alapuzha, Kerala, did not even know of their son's tragedy until it was flashed in the media. A neighbour of the family told TOI, "The family came to know through the media. It is shattered. We are told the force will officially inform the family by this evening."
Constable Sarvesh Kumar's family in Jhansi, UP, is beyond any consolation. "He was married only seven months ago. His wife is returning from her mother's house. Her life is ruined," Kumar's brother Arvind said.
There are still 26 ITBP personnel stationed in Kedarnath who will shortly be airlifted. But for them, it will be a sad farewell to Char Dham. Those who died had hugged them and said "goodbye". Little did anyone know it was their final one...........................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMTMvMDYvMjcjQXIwMTYwNg==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
No comments:
Post a Comment