India won the Champions Trophy and most of us would be
able to recognize almost all the players…… may not be
this man … he is Anil Kumar Browne….
The tragedy at hills of Uttarakhand is assuming demonic
proportions going by the reports. There are heroes and topping that list for
sure is our Army Jawans. Indo-Tibetan
Border Police (ITBP), which is deployed along the Indo-China border, was the
first to reach and initiate rescue operations in Uttarkhand’s Kedarnath Valley,
the worst affected by the floods unleashed by the onset of monsoon rains and
the cloudburst on June 16. They have
been doing a great job in reaching out to the worst affected regions and
evacuate people when all connections – roads and bridges – had been washed away
in the deluge.
Another tragedy struck – this time at Gaurikhand on the rescuers themselves… very sad to read
the news of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter carrying 20 people crashing during a rescue mission killing all
those on board. Those on board the
ill-fated chopper include five from IAF, six from ITBP and rest from National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
sources said. The Mi-17 V5 chopper was on a rescue mission from Gauchar to
Guptkashi and Kedarnath and crashed yesterday afternoon while returning from
Kedarnath north of Gaurikund, according to an IAF spokesperson. IAF Chief Air
Chief Marshal himself rushed to Uttarakhand today to boost the morale of pilots
operating in difficult weather conditions. The crash occurred in “difficult”
weather conditions created by rains and fog, a senior IAF official said here.
The chopper belonged to a unit from Barrackpore Air Force Station in West Bengal under the Eastern Air Command.
The tragedy that Uttarakhand is faced with is neither new
to the country nor something that was unexpected. Another cloudburst in 2010
killed 1000 people in Leh just three years back. While the enormity of the
tragedy is coming to fore just now, past experience should have told political
leaders of our country about the magnitude the tragedy could assume right when
it broke. Sadly we have leaders who undertake aerial surveys and ceremonial
dropping of food from thereof / flagging of relief vehicles and the like – all
in front of cameras. This catastrophe seems to be an amplified version of past
landslides and flash floods which typically hit the state in August, after the
peak tourism season has ended.
Though it is not right to make comparisons, perhaps what
is written in Firstpost is absolute truth.
Politicians, right from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh downwards, have
been singing paeans to our armed forces heroes who have been putting their
lives on the line in the mission to rescue people in the thousands in the
flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand. But these words come across as empty
nothingness when one considers the compensation that those who died in
Tuesday’s helicopter crash will receive – and contrasts with the “reward” for the Indian cricketers who won the
Champions Trophy on Sunday. Appearing on a CNN-IBN panel discussion late on
Tuesday, Col Anil Kaul pointed to this as exemplifying the “platitudes” that
politicians offer the armed forces in times of crises – without doing anything
substantive once the crisis fades away.
“People in the services are remembered in times
of war, calamity, disaster – and anytime
that things go wrong,” said Col Kaul. “But once the crisis is over, we are a
forgotten tribe – until the next disaster strikes.” In particular, Col Kaul drew
attention to the fact that while the cricketers who won the Champions Trophy on
Monday had been given a reward of Rs 1 crore each, the relatives of the armed
forces personnel who perished in the helicopter crash on Tuesday while on a
rescue mission in Uttarakhand will be paid a measly Rs 15 lakh in compensation.
Even the countless other armed forces personnel who have been involved in the
rescue operation – in hazardous terrain, facing inclement weather and putting
their own lives at risk – will, he noted, retire over time. But the “same
worthies” who represent the various segments of the political mainstream and
civil society will go to court against us ex-servicemen and deny us our basic
compensation,” said Col Kaul, giving expression to his frustration.
Col Kaul also made the additional point that many of the
civilian deaths in the Uttarakhand tragedy may have been averted if the
appropriate flood prevention equipment had been procured in time. Brandishing a
piece of equipment before the camera, Col Kaul narrated another typical story
of corruption in government that preys on human lives. The equipment – which
looks like nothing more than a piece of cloth – was, he said, a “replacement
for the erstwhile sandbag”. But it has
hydrogel packed in it, and when dropped in water, it expands from its original
weight of 40 grams to 250 kg. “It can be used to divert water, and serves other
multifarious functions.” According to Col Kaul, he exhibited the technology to
the erstwhile vice chairman of the National Disaster Management Agency six
months ago, but was told that it was a State subject. After which, he said, he
was approached by “touts” from the State who wanted him to pay money to get the
State government to procure the hydrogel sandbags. Equipment like these, says
Col Kaul, could have saved thousands of lives.
The ruling party at the State and the Centre has not distinguished itself with its
planning nor timing of their action.
News of floods and devastation started trickling in from Uttarakhand
almost two weeks ago. Yet, there is little logic to explain why the leaders
chose to react and visit the state this late. While they blame Narendra Modi,
he for sure cannot be faltered for taking care of his own people – yes he
caring only for his own people is sought to be over played now.
You may or may not like him being called Rambo….but
shortly after the disaster Modi was in Uttarakhand, held a meeting till 1am
with his crack rescue team of five IAS, one IPS, one IFS and two GAS (Gujarat
Administrative Service) officers. Around 80 Toyota Innovas reportedly were
requisitioned to ferry Gujaratis to safer places in Dehradun so also were four
Boeings. On Saturday, 25 luxury buses transported a bunch of people to Delhi Hardwar
In what differentiates Great men from mortals, IAF Chief
NAK Browne who visited the site of a chopper crash said meanwhile, that most of
the evacuation work has been completed, adding that they would continue with
rescue work once the weather allowed them a window of opportunity. Speaking
about the chopper crash that took place on Tuesday evening Browne said, “What
exactly happened we will know only once we recover MI17 voice data recorder. We
have sent commandos to the crash site. We have recovered recording devices and
only analysis will reveal the cause of the crash.” Browne was also quick to say
that the IAF was not going anywhere. “Morale is still very high…Our rotors will
not stop churning”, he said. Hats off to
such great persons…..
Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, also known as
"Charlie" Browne, is the current Chief of the Air Staff(CAS) of the
Indian Air Force (IAF). He was Vice Chief of the Air Staff until 31 July 2011
when he replaced outgoing Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar .
Largely reproduced
from www.firstpost.com
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