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Itwastheeveningof16th,after2daysofnonstopdownpour,thatIfinally
saw a bit of clear sky. The news of landslides causing the destruction of
road to Gaurikund had reached us. There was also some rumour of one
Helicopterhavingsweptawayinthefloodinanotherpartofthestate.The

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road connecting Phata to Gaurikund and, more importantly, to Guptkashi

wasalsoreportedtobedamagedandblockedbylandslides.ButNothingpreparedmeforthedevastationthatIsawwhenIgot
Airborneearlymorning.
FromPhatatoGaurikund,Icouldseethattheroadhadbeendestroyedbylandslidesatmanyplaces.Vehiclesandpeople
seemedstrandedbutinnorealdangeronthisroad.ButasIturnedintothevalleytowardsGaurikund,theextentofdamage
startedtobecomevisible.AtGaurikund,Theentirelowlyingparkinglot,whichgenerallywasfullofbusesandcars,atleast
300350ofthem,wasgone.Theriverhadconsumedit.Thewaterlevelalsolookedmuchhigherandviolent.
AheadofGaurikund,theroadontheleftoftheValleywascompletelymissingatseveralplaces.Itwasasifahugechunkofthe
mountain had just come down on these sections of the road and taken the road away into the
steepgorgethatwastheriver.

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Deluge

Isawalotofstrandedmulesinonthebrokensectionsoftheroad,trappedfrombothsides,and
just standing there ,abandoned after 2 days of rain. As I looked ahead , I found that the entire
transit town of RamBada , which was our reporting point before turning left into kedarnath , had
just vanished . It was an astonishing sight, as almost 2 to 2 square kms of low lying town of
Rambada,whichhadthesehousesandshedsforthepilgrims,hadjustcavedinandinitsplace
wasaviolentlyflowingmuddyriver.Theslopesatbothsidesofthevalleyhadcompletelysunkin

Arescuevideoat
Kedarnath
A hard
Rescue rotated

andtakenawayawholetown!
AsIturnedintotheGarudchettyandtowardsthekedartemple,whatIsawwascompletedevastation.Theriveroriginatingfrom
theglacierhaddividedinto2streamsandwasflowingeithersideofthekedarnathtown.Thetownitselfhadalmostnobuilding
leftstanding,andthegroundseemedtobelitteredwithwhatlookedlikeragsandrubble.AsIwentlowertohavealook,Isaw
that what looked like rags and cloth were actually bodies of people, lying piled spread out on the ground all around. It was
incredible.TheHelipadsweregone,andinitsplacewasariverflowingviolently.Inthetown,otherthanthetemple,therewere
onlyafewroofsoftinthatremainedallelsehadbeenblownaway,asifbyacyclone!
OnthetwohighridgesoneitherofGarudchetty,Icouldseesomepeoplewavingfromtheground,andalotofotherpeoplejust
lyingthereexhaustedandwetandwithouthope.ItlookedlikethesceneoutofaHollywoodapocalypsemovie!
Threedaysbackon14th,whenflyingoverthesameplace,Ihadseenthecloudsbuildupbytheeveningtime.Infacttowards
thelastweekbeforetherains,theweatherhadbeenmarginalonmostdays,withcloudingappearingbothatthevalleymouth
shortofGaurikundandtowardsRambada.Onmanyoccasions,flyinghadtobestoppedbecauseofweather.However,sinceit
waspremonsoonseasoninthehills,aspilotswedidexpectthisweatherinthehillsandconstantlyremindedourselvestobe
waryoftakinganyrisksinthevalleywiththeclouds.Infacton12thJun,Ihadcheckedtheweatherforecastonthenet,andbad
weatherhadbeenpredictedintheforthcoming34days.Allhelicopteroperatorswereawareofthis.
After flying over the kedarnath town, it had become clear that there had been a lot of devastation. And yet, it was difficult to
decidewhattodonext.Therewasnothingthatremainedofthehelipad.Mostofthelandtherewaswetandundulating,andfull
ofrubble.AsIwasflyingalone,IdecidedtolandclosetoagroupofpeopleonthehighpartoftheridgelineonGarudchetty.
Thegroundwasslopingandwetanduneven,soafterhoveringafewfeetoverapatch,Igentlyloweredthehelicoptertothe
ground.BeforeIcouldevenlookup,therewasastampedeofpeoplewhohadrushedtowardsthehelicopterandweretryingto
breakopenthedoorsandgetin.Ahugefightbrokeoutamongstthemand,itwasabsolutemayhem.Ihadnochoicebuttolift
up the chopper, before somebody raised a stick or threw something into the rotors, or went running into the tail rotor. The
peopleherehadbecomeanimals,grabbingandpullingeachotherbackandtryingtocomeinfrontandgetintothechopper
andflytosafety.Itwastheworsenightmareapilotcouldhave.Luckily,Imanagedtokickthesepeoplebackandtakeoff!Ithen
wentbacktothehelipad,pickedup2ofmycrewofhandlers,toughandroughyoungmen,askedthemtocarrysomestickfor
crowdcontrol,andthenflewthembacktothesamespot...ThistimeIdroppedthemshortofthegroupofpeople.Asbefore,
therewasastampede,butthistimetheguysinthefrontwereconfrontedwiththesehandlers,whopushedthembacklike
animals,andfinallygotthemtocalmdownandsent6peopleinsidethechopper.
It had now become clear that the survivors of the devastation had become completely wild , having survived the trauma of
deathanddevastation,andhadasinglepointagenda,thatofsurvival.Inshort,theywerebeyondreasonnow!
AsIalongwith4otherchopperpilotsintheirmachineswerethefirsttoarriveatthesceneofdevastation,wedecidedtotakea
callonwhattodo.Wedecidedthatitwasimpossibletolandthehelicopteranywherewithoutsomeoneonthegroundtocontrol
thecrowdofsurvivors.Soafterthefirstattemptoflandingalmostcausedacrash,wedecidedtogetbacktothehelipadsand

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thecrowdofsurvivors.Soafterthefirstattemptoflandingalmostcausedacrash,wedecidedtogetbacktothehelipadsand
getourhandlersandstaff(volunteers),dropthemongroundandhavesomecontrolofthesurvivors.Westartedcoordinating
the rescue work on the Radio between our 4 choppers. I decided to land at the Right Garudchetty ground, where the
reappearedtobeatleast500people.
AlthoughwehadourgroundHandlersinpositionbythen,theywerehavingahardtimekeepingthepeoplebackfromchopper
.Whatfollowedaftereverysuchlandingwasabsolutemayhem,anditwasonlyprovidencethatnoonewentintotherotors.
Asthegroundwasslipperyandsloping,itwasverydifficulttokeepthehelicoptersteadyorlevelonground,andIhadtouse
allmyskillstokeepthemachinelightonskidsonthatslope.Slowlyafterafewlandings,thegrdhandlerswereabletoget
thesurvivorsinsomesortofdiscipline.Wethusstartedasteadyshuttlefromthislandingspottoferrytheysurvivors6atatime
backtothehelipads.ThegrdHandlersalsomanagedtogettheweaker,injuredandthewomenaheadinthequeue.Thusa
steadyrescueoperationwassetup.
Bythistime,almostallcompanies had launched their choppers for rescue ,
andthuswehad78choppersinthevalleyatanygiventime.Yetthrough
coordinationonRT,wewereabletomaintainsafedistancefromeachother
andyetcarryoutrescueworkinsequence.
I, along with Capt Lal , who was flying a chopper belonging to another
company(UTAir),decidedtoexploreandlookforotherlandingplacescloser
to the temple town. So I flew low and over what had been Kedarnath town .
What I saw was horrendous . Bodies piled one on top of the other , bloated up and rotting all over . And yet there were
survivors.Thesepeoplehadcomeoutoftherubblealive,andweresittingthereingroups,indespair.
Ifoundaplaceontheleftedgeofthetown,closetoawell,thatseemedjustabouttheminimumsizerequiredtoland.SoI
landed there , and dropped my Handlers .. They arranged the people in the order of women and children first , and thus
another recue place was designated, called Temple Helipad The next 3 days there was a steady steam of choppers that
evacuatedthesesurvivorstosafetyathelipadinPhata.
We had no funds for rescue material. In fact we had no rescue material. All we did was get the dying and injured out of the
kedarvalleyandintothesafetyofPhata.SincetheroadsaheadofPhatawerealsoblocked,therewasnooptionforthese
survivorstogofurther.However,inthelimitedresourcesthatwehadavailable,wetriedtotakecareofthesesurvivorsbefor
handingthemovertothelocalmedics.
Theresponseofthestategovtwasactuallysodeplorable,it
shouldhavebeenreported.TheStategovtturnedablindeye
tothedisaster.Infact,theGovtauthoritieshadknownofthe
weather likely to be bad since 12 th . yet , no such warning
was issued to the tourists at Kedar ! The only reaction that
was worse than that of the sate govt was that of the Center
Govt.Onthefirstdayofrescue,itwascleartoallofusthat
therehadbeenamassivetragedyandmanythousandshad
died . Yet on the TV (Sat TV was still avbl) , The PM , Mr
MMS was busy announcing the Cabinet Reshuffle !And the
Homeminister,MrShinde,wastellingthepressthatduetoexcessiverains,51peoplehaddiedinUttrakhand!Andhebased
hiscountonthenumberofbodiesthatcameoutoftheriverinHaridwar!
Inastatewherelandslidesandfloodsarealmostannualevents,thatwasanunderstatementtoremember.Noonewasreally
worriedaboutthefactthat2daysofcontinuousraininsucharegionconducivetolandslidescouldbedisaster!Orthatthere
were no plans of evacuation of that region in place with the existing equipment! It was only on the 3rd day after the rains
stoppedthatthestategovtfinallyarrangedtogettheAirForcetosenditschoppers,thattooforareccee!
TheseChoppersturnedupaftertakingfuelfromDeheradun,sobythetimetheywerethroughwiththeinitialrecce,theywere
alreadyrunningshortoffuelandhadtogobackThearmyChoppersalsoturnedup,withthesameproblem.Imetthepilots
onthehelipad,andtheytoldmehowtheyhadbeenscrambledinahurrywithoutanyplanorstrategy!Whatthestatefunction
arisedidntnotrealise,ordidnotcaretoaddresswasthefactthattotalenduranceofahelicopter(mosttypes)isbetween2:
45hrsto3:00hrs.Whichmeansthatonatankloadoffuel,theycanonlyflyforthatmuchonly.Alsooutofthistheyhaveto
keepareserveofatleast30minsflyingtimetocaterforanyemergency.Outoftheremaining2:15hrs,1:30isspentjust
flyinginfromDeharadunandgoingbackthere.Whichleftthemwithonly45minofflyingforreconandcasevac..Infactthey
were severely constrained due to lack of any fuel at nearby stations in the first 2 days of their coming, which were the most
crucialdaysasfarasgettingpeopleoutalivewasconcerned.
Luckily,thepvtOperatorshadalreadymadesomefuelstorageonthehelipads,andonafewinstances,evenprovidedfuel
fortheAirforcedhruvs(ALH)armyCheetahs.Itwasonlyafter20Junthattheseissuesoffuelshortageandreliefmaterial
wereaddressed.
Itsasadfactthatlikemostotherredundantorganisationsinourcountry,NDMAandNDRFweremoreforthenamethanfor
anypurpose.Theyturnedupthereinthejamboreeafter4days,andwereequippedwithnothingmorethanropesandsticks.
Most of these people looked thin and malnutrition, and without any specialised training. I remember an occasion when I had
droppedoneofmygroundhandlers,MrBisht,toaisolatedpatchoftheroadaheadofGaurikund,andhewasaskingfora
metal cutter ,so he could cut off the poles on the road side . The idea was to create enough space on the road to allow a
helicoptertolandandpickupabout1500peoplewhowerestrandedinthatpart.IlandedinthebasecampatGuptkashiand
wentpersonallytoseekametalcutter,whichislikeakerosenetorchthatcancutpipes.Eventhoughitwasarudimentarytool
thatmostreliefteamsaresupposedtohave,theNDRFhadneverheardofit.Uponaskingwhattheydidhave,IwastoldRope
andaWalkieTalkie!

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Oneoftheotherpilots,whowasevacuatingpeopleoutoftheKedartemplearea,sawthatthereweremanySadhusinorange
robes , who seemed quiet and quite calm , sitting at the end of the line and not making any attempts to come up to the
chopper.Finallywhentheirturncame,theHolyManrefusedtoletgoofhisbloateduppotliandinsistedthathewouldcarryit
onhislapandnotinthecargocompartmentofthechopper.Thepilotalertedthestatepoliceauthoritiesatthehelipadatphata
,andintheirpresence,thispotliwasopened.Therewerestacksofcurrencynotesinitwhichamountedtoabout92lakhs!The
Baba ji had nothing to say except that the money was flowing in the river , and so he had picked it up ! Similar instances of
womencarryinggoldinkilosandclaimingthatitwasalltheirjewellery,orotherlocalguidescaughtwithlootalsocametothe
fore.
Ihadtakenituponmyselftolookforsurvivorswhowerestrandedindifficultplacesfromwherethebiggerchopperscouldnot
evacuatethem.AndIdecidedtotakewhateverriskIthoughtIcouldhandletolandthechopperintheserockledgesandwith
onlyhalfoftheskidintouchwiththeground,andgetthesepoorsoulsout.Tothisday,IdonotknowwhyIdidthat,takethat
muchriskforabsolutestrangers.Maybeitwasahighercalling,maybeitwasachallengethatasaprofessionalchopperPilot,
IknewIcouldnotturndown,maybeitwasthedesperationineyesofthesepeoplethateggedmeon,formostofthemwould
nothavesurvivedanother24hrsintheconditionthattheywerein.Iknewitwasnotformydesiretobeproclaimedahero,
becauseInevertalkedaboutittoanyonethenorsince.InfactIrefusedtogiveInterviewstotheMediathathadcomeupto
me,Iwasofthebeliefthatinatimeofsuchtragedy,therewasworktobedonewhichwasmoreimportantthannarrating
talesoftherescue.AllIknewwasthattheAdrenalinwaspumpingforthose4days.Ifleweverydayfromfirstlightat6amto
sunset,breakingallruleslaiddownbyDGCA.Iwouldonlystopforlunch,andwhenfatiguewasoverwhelming,Iwouldtakea
30minrestandliedownonthegroundtostraightenmyback.
AndIwasnottheonlyone.Therewereatleastafewotherpilotslikeme,whoflewlikethat,withoutanymotivationotherthan
thatofdoingtheirjob.CaptParminder,CaptLal,CaptBhatta,CaptPummy,andthePawanHansPilots.Weallflewtirelessly
allday!IrememberIcouldbarelysleepmorethan4hrsinthenight,andwouldbeupby4:30,raringtogo.
A bunch of us pilots were living in a 10 room hotel called Pinnacle Resorts. We would all get together in the evening taking
abouttheexperiencesofthedayandtheplanforthenext.Irememberthemoodbeingrathersomberandquiet,tilloneofus
wouldcrackaparticularlydirtyjoke,andthatwouldsortoflightenthingsup,butonlyforafewminutes.Thegeneralfeeling
wasthatofsadness,mixedwithanxietyandfear,foreachoneofusknewweweretakinghugeriskeveryday,landingin
reallytightplaces,inmarginalconditions,andthatsoonerorlater,ourluckwouldrunout,butnoneofuswantedtotalkof
this.
Therewasthisoneparticularplace,shortofRambada,whereabout300peoplehadbeenstrandedfor4days.Thesepeople
had survived by hanging on to the tree branches and stones in the 2 days of landslide an drain and they found themselves
huddled up in a small 30 sq mt space that was a rock jutting out of the slope , and that had not fallen into the river in the
landslide. They had no way of leaving this small place and were surrounded by dead bodies of fellow travelers and mules. I
remembermakingalowpassandseeingthemwavinginhope.Iknewitwasaverytightspot,anditwouldbeimpossibleto
have the entire skid of the helicopter firm on the rock, , but I couldnt ignore the desperate signals for help. So I decided to
gingerlymakeanapproachoverthisrockaftergettingmymostreliablehandlersonboard.
Oneofthevolunteerhandlerswasayoungpilotlikeme,whowasnotyetexperiencedenoughtoflyassinglepilot,andthus
waslookingtobeofhelpinsomeway.Igotintoalowhoveronwhateverspacewasavailableonthisrock,andaskedthese
mentojumpdown.Theydidthat,andstartedherdingthedesperatesurvivorsintoatightbunchandpushedthembackas
farastheycouldtomakespaceforthechoppertoland.Themarginoferrorformewasnotinfeet,butininchesnow.One
gust of wind , or one wrong movement or twitch of the cyclic control , and the blades would touch either the rock slope and
treesontheleftortheheadsofpeoplehuddledupinfront.Thesightofmyhandler,MrBisht,onhiskneesontheground,
waving the helicopter to creep forward in low hover inch by inch , without any fear or doubt of his own safety , will remain
etched in my memory for ever . I shut down all other senses and was only concentrating on his hand directions, and I
reluctantlymovedthehelicopterskidforwardtoapositionwherethemachinecouldbalanceitselfandwouldntfallbackwards
off the cliff when I lowered the collective. Bisht got the helicopter to move forward till it was practically 01 foot away from his
face,allthewhilesittingonhishaunches,holdinghisnerveandrefusingtobeblownbackbythedownwashoftherotors.One
littleerror,andwewouldallhaveendedupkillingeachother.
BishtisbyfarthebravestmanIhaveeverhadtheprivilegeofmeeting,inallmylife!IfeverIhadtoplacemylifeinsomeones
hand,itwouldbehim.Withhisefforts,Icouldtakeoutthecasualties,whichincludedwomenandchildreninshock,oralmost
dead,tosafety.Iaskedotherhelicoptersontheradiotohelpmeoutinthiseffort,butnoonewaspreparedtolandthere.In
fact they told me its suicidal. Finally,one of the choppers flown by an old pilot instructor I knew from the Airforce decided to
cometomyaid,andmanagedtolandthere.However,aftertakingthefirstlotofcasualtiesout,hehadtoswitchoff,ashe
could nottolerate the sight and stench of flesh and had to puke! Luckily, the other pilot of that company was also a very
experiencedmanCaptBhatanagar,andhetookoverandthusbetweenthetwoofus,wemanagedtosaveabout30350lives
by taking them out one after the other. It took us practically the whole day of continuous flying to finish the job , between 3
helicopters.(CaptLaljoinedusmidwaythroughasthethirdhelicopter).
Towardstheeveningthatday,IgotamessagefromITBPthatafewcasualtieswerestuckataplaceakmorsoawayfromthis
particularplace,andsomeITBPmenhadbeentaskedtocarrythemtothisparticularplacefromwherewewereevacuating
these causalities. Since we hadtaken out everyone from that site already, and it was almost sunset , I hadswitched off my
Helicopterandwaslookingforwardtoawelcomerestafter12hrsinthecockpit.
However, I said yes and positioned my Helicopter at Sirsi Helipad , waiting for news of these casualties reaching the landing
site.Iremembergettingacallat1910hrsthatthecasualtieshadreached.Itwasalmostdark,soIhurriedupandgotAirborne
.Ihadmyfriend,Vijeetonboard.IhadpickedupVijeetfromGarudchettyinmylastsortiebeforeIlandedatSirsi.Theother
HelicopterflownbyCaptBhatnagar,hadalreadygotairbornefromHeritageHelipadbeforeme,andbythetimeIreachedthe
site,IwastoldonRTthathehadtakenoutthecasualtiesfromthere,andallIhadtodowaspickuphisEngineer,and02
ITBPpersonnelfromthisplace,andgetthemback.Ilandedandtookthe03peopleonboardandwasaskedbytheITBPmen

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ITBPpersonnelfromthisplace,andgetthemback.Ilandedandtookthe03peopleonboardandwasaskedbytheITBPmen
to drop them at Gaurikundhelipad , where there unit was. Since it was a relatively bigger ground at Gaurikundand it was
mannedbysecuritypersonnelfromITBPandtheArmyonground,Ithoughtitwasaeasytask,eventhoughitwasalmostdark
bythen.ImadeanapproachforthegroundatGaurikundandIcouldseetherewasalargecrowdofabout1500oddpeople
standing at the edges of that ground. However , theyappeared to be orderly and were being held back by ITBP Jawans . I
landedatthegroundandaskedtheITBPpeopletoexitthehelicopter.JustthenIsawthecrowd,whichhadsofarbeenheld
back,suddenlyeruptandbreaktheshacklesandrushtowardstheHelicopterinamadfrenzy.Itwasalmostdark,andthecrowd
knewthatthiswasprobablythelasthelicopterthatwouldflyoutofthere,andeveryonewantedtobeonit.Bythetimethe02
ITBP mencould get out, the crowd had reached the helicopter and were trying to forcetheir way in. Few of the men had
grabbed the open door of the helicopter andwere pulling hard at it . Vijeet and the engineer tried their best to close thedoor
from the inside ,but itseemed impossible. Just then I saw 2 boys rush to the right side of theHelicopter. They were trying to
openthelatchofthecargocompartmentintherearandtryingtogetinthere.Itwasanightmarishsituation.TheRotorsofthe
helicopter were still at full rpm . I couldnt switch off because then theblades would cone down and strike the heads of the
peoplearound.Icouldntpickupthehelicopteroffthegroundbecausepeoplewereholdingontotheopendoorandtryingto
openthecargohold.TheITBPandarmywerebynowlathichargingthecrowd,andallhellhadbrokenloose.Ontheleft,I
saw a fatlady relentlessly pushing forward towards the helicopter. She was carrying asmall baby that had some sort of
intravenous bottle attached. She was wailingat top of her voice, and in a sudden jerk forward with her torso , she threw the
baby inside thechopper rear seat. Mercifully , the two people who had already managed to creepinto the rear seat by then
caughtthebabyovertheirheads.Icouldwaitnolonger.IaskedVijeetandtheEngineertograbthedoorandkickeveryone
holdingontothechopper.Iputmyhandoutontherightintothesmallventwindowonthedoorandgrabbedthehairoftheboy
tryingtogetintothecargohold,andviolentlypushedhimaway.ThenIpickedupthehelicopterinasuddenjerk.Afewpeople
weretryingtoholdontotheskidofthehelicopter,butatheyfinallyletgo.Iwasinahoveratabout15ft,whenIsawthat
therightdoorofthehelicopterswungopen.Thebabybeingheldbytherightmostpersonsittingbehindwasalmosthalfout!I
knew that after takeoff , I had to make a sharp bank tothe right , as there was a tall tree ahead of me. The helicopter was
hoveringunsteadilyatmaximumpower,andIcouldnttakemyhandsawayfromthecontrolstoreachoutforthedoorhandle.I
askedVijeet,whowasseatednexttome,tounstrapandtrytoreachoutforthedoorhandle.Hetried3times,butcouldnt
reach it . Finally in his effort to lean forward , heunknowingly put his knee right on top of my left forearm that was holding
theCollectivecontrol.Ifeltaseethingpainonmylefthand,butIcouldnotallowthehandtoloosen,andthecollectivetogo
downbyevenbyabit,aswewereinaprecarioushover.Ittookallmystrengthtofreezemyleftforearminthatposition,as
Vijeettookahugelungeandgrabbedthedoorhandle.Thebabywasalmostattheedgeofthedoor,butluckilyhewaspulled
in andthe door was latched shut .. Imanaged to takeoff without hitting anything nearby , and offloaded the casualtiesat
GuptKashi.
ThenIcamebacktoPhataPinaclehelipadandlandedandswitchedoff..Ihadgivenupsmoking2yearsback,whenmylittle
girls were born (twins ) , but I grabbed one that day and sat there 10 mins just cooling mynerves. I had almost crashed the
Helicopterthatday,andwewerealljustluckytobealive.Wejustsattherecompletelyexhaustedstaringblanklyateachother.
Therewasnothingtosay!
Thatevening,Istoodundertheshowerforalongtime,tryingtowashawaythesmellofexcrement,decayingflesh,pukeand
urine,thesmellofdeath,outofmyperson.Butitjustwouldntgoaway.Ihadadreamthatnight,inthatdreamaoldwrinkled
hauntingwomansittingattherearofagroupofdyingandinjuredpeople,allcoveringtheirheadswithblankets.Allexceptthis
ladywhoisleaningtoonesideandcallingmynamesayingCometome,HurryShehasgreeneyesthatlookedlikebroken
shardsofabottle..Itwokemeup.IknewitwasawarningthatIhadusedupmyluckeventhoughImustconfess,Iaman
atheistandacompletenonbelieverinanyspiritualmumbojumbo!
Thenextday,IpromisedmyselfIwouldtakenomoreunduerisks,justmerelydropfoodpacketsonstrandedcrowds.And
yet,midwaythroughmyfirstfooddropsortie,Ispottedagroupof15oddpeoplewavingtomefromtheground,nexttoa5ft
by2ftrockledge!And,well,Isaidherewegoagain.
There was also the time later in that day whenthis Army Capt , who was on Garudchtty walked up to the chopper and said
,thereare5peoplestrandednexttoawaterfall.SoItookhimonboardandoffwewentlookingforthisgroup.Astrangesight
greetedus.Rightnexttoasmallwaterfall,onthelargeboulderlaybodiesof02whiteCaucasianwomen,withoutashardof
clothingonthem,asifsunbathing!Theywereslightlybloatedinappearance,anddefinitelydead.30feetaboveontheslope
along the waterfall stream, was a cave , more an overhang of a largerock. Under it I could count 5 people , sitting , barely
moving,butalive.AndtherewasaSadhuinsaffronclothingthatwaswiththem!Astheslopewasverysteep,Icouldnotland
thehelicopter.Iaskedthearmycapttojumpdown5ftontotherocks,andseeifhecouldcarrythemtothehoveringchopper.
meanwhile,ItriedfindingasuitableplacewhereIcouldatleastputsomepartoftheskiddown.
However ,the winds were really strong , and the chopper was very unsteady . The Army Capt had meanwhile carried a
motionless ladyon his back and brought her to the ledge near the chopper .. but even as hetried to push her up into the
helicopterwhichwashovering5ftabovetheground,thewindwouldmakethehelicopterunsteady.MuchasItriedIcouldnot
holdthemachinestill.Wewererightattheedgeoftherockyslope,anditseemedtoorisky.Iwasrunningoutoffuel.Ididnt
wanttoleavethebraveCaptainalonehere.SoIwentandpickedupmyfriendVijeet(Again)fromnearbyGarudchettyright
helipad..anddroppedhimdownatthesameslope.
Meanwhile,IgaveacalltoAirforceALHthatwasflying,towinchupthesepeople.W/CNaiduwasflyingtheALH,andhesaid
hewouldattendtoit.SoIwentbackandswitchedoffforrefuelling.YetIwasalittleguilty,asIhaddropped02ofmyboysthere
and wasnt sure if they would be picked up . So afterrefuelling the Helicopter , I got airborne straight away and went looking
forthem.Icouldnotseethemanywherenearthespot.IaskedonRTtotheALHifhehadwinchedthemup,buthesaidNo.I
started looking even moredesperately on ground for them . I spotted the 02 naked ladies , but there wasno Sadhu , or any
otherpersonnearthatcave.IwasalittleworriedtillIlandedatPinnacleandwastoldthatThechopperflownbyPawanHans
pilots (twin pilot config) was able to land and pick up all the casualties and our twoboys. I was relieved , but also a little
embarrassed.HowhadtheymanagedtolandwhenIwasunabletoevenhoverthere!Pilotsareacompetitivelot,eventhough
wewouldneveradmitit.ThateveningImetVijeetandhetoldmewhathadhappened.AfterIhadleftthemthere,theybusied
themselves picking up large stones andmaking a sort of level surface for the chopper to land. Apparently , the sadhu had

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themselves picking up large stones andmaking a sort of level surface for the chopper to land. Apparently , the sadhu had
superhumanstrength,asheliftedreallyheavyrocksdespitehisslightframe.Aftertheyhadmanagedtomakesomesortofa
flatsurfacetheywavedatthechopperflying,whothenspottedthemandlandedhereandgotthecasualtiesout.
There are countless other similar stories thathappened in those 45 days of rescue work there . In some way , it was like
theWildWestofhelicopterflying.Never,noteveninawar,andIhavebeeninKargilwar,hadsomuchfreehandbeengiven
forpilotstodosuchwork.Itwasonlyyourownfear,willandskillthatcouldlimityouinthesecircumstances.Inaway,theone
positivethingtocomeoutofallthiswastheeffortsofmycolleagues,whoselflessly,andwithoutfeartotheirownlives,roseto
theoccasionandperformedtheactsofheroes.Andyet,neversaidawordofthistothepressormediaforpublicity.Thereis
stillhopeinoursociety.
Yetallwerenotinthesamespirit.Therewerethenotsobrave,andthereweretheselfish,publicitywhores,andthemeekold
Dinosthatcovereduptheirsecretfearandlackofskillbyannouncingtheirnameseverywhere.CaptDwasonesuchgent.A
characterstudyofana#$#%le,ifuaskme.
Announcing loudly on RT that Airforce needs to send help , and this and that , and his name of course , and then landing
meekly at the widest of all landing grounds , from where there was no need to pick up anyone , as the Mi17 was operating
fromthere.CaptBwasanother,themediawhoreVisibleeverywhereforsoundbytesandvideocoverageandmissinginany
meaningful rescue. There were others, Capt C , the wheeler dealer , who was busy trying to arrange ferries for rich
passengerstrappedinthefiascodirectlytoDelhi,foranundisclosedpriceofcourse.Butthenittakesallkindstomakethe
world,Andreallyyoudontreallyknowwhatyouyourselfaremadeupof,tillyoufaceachoiceinarealhardsituationlikethis.
Forme,personally,thiswasthebestoftimeandtheworstoftime,toborrowaphrase.IsawmoregoreherethanIdidevenin
themilitary.Blood,andfleshanddeathandtragedyandcompletedevastation.ButitwasalsothetimeIgottouseallmyskills
thatIhadacquiredinyearsandyearsoftraining,andputitfinallytosomegooduse.
Itwasatroubling,inmorewaysthanone.Irememberpeople,perchedondeadbodiesofothertravellersandmules,babies
and women, crying weeping, wailingscreaming for help. And I saw then leap and jump over each other trying to
savethemselvesbeforetheotherbytramplingtheweakerundertheirfeetandmakingamadrushfortherescuechopper.Ialso
sawthesesamepeople,withinhoursoftheirextraction,turningbackandaskingquietlyhowmuchIwouldtaketonowflythem
backtoDehradunorDelhi,andforgetabouttheothersleftbehind!AndIheardthisstoryfromthemanagerofPinacleResorts,
Mandeep,abouthowoneofthepeoplewhowasrescuedcameuptohimtosayAbBasEkBottleChivasMilJayecelebrate
karnekeliye,mainaapko10000Rsdoonga!Didthesepeoplereallydeservebeingsaved,atsuchgreatperiltoself?And
ofcourse, ther was the local DistrictMagistrate , who appeared on the 21st Jun, merely 5 days after , andstood there on the
helipadlookingimportant,surroundedbyhiscronies,andhadtheaudacitytosendoneofhischokarraastoask,Saabkeliye
kuchChaiPaanikaintezamkaroo!.
AndtheMedia,thatwasreporting51casualtiesasannouncedbytheHomeMinister,MrShindeandturneduphereonlyafter
the4thday,immediatelyshowingthewrathofthegodsasitsNEWSandtheHeroictalesoftheFaujiBhai,whoonceagain
cametotherescuehere,whenactuallywhattheyweretryingtowascoverupontheirownlethargyandtheGovtsabsolute
cluelessnessinthefirstcrucialdaysoftheaftermath.
IflewBackhomeon22NDJunafternoon.LandedatDelhiPalam,parkedtheaircraft,andtookthecompanycabhome.My
wifehadntheardfrommeforover5days.AllshesawwasthedevastationonTV.MyPhonewasunreachableinthistime,as
theservicesatPhatavillagehadbeendisrupted.Luckily,sheknewoneoftheAirForcePilotshesawonTVfrombeforethetime
Ihadquit,andhadhismobilenumber.HewasinDehradunandwasreachable.Sincehehadmetmeatthevalleyduringthis
RescueOperation,hehadtoldherthatIwassafe.
Igotatearyhugfromher,andmy2babygirlscamerunningtomyarmsandcooedDAADDY.Itwasagoodhomecoming,andI
wasexhausted.Ispentmostofthenext3daysjustsleepingoffthefatigue.Intheevening,IturnedontheTVandtheNewswas
full of stories of the rescueand devastation at Uttrakhand. Most of the News reporters were shouting outloud on the screens
about how their channel was the first to get exclusivecoverage of the devastation of Kedarnath . Along with that was a lot
ofgrandstanding on screen by the field reporters about how difficult it had beenfor them to reach there and how they were
bearing the rough time of living 01night in a tent in the cold at Kedarnath towns ruins. One particular story by the ZEE TV
reporters was so laughably pansy and exaggerated I switch off theTV in disgust. Such gall, to turn up after 4 days, and
becomeHeroesontheirownNewsChannel!GloriousstoriesofvalourandthetirelessrescueofArmedForcesHelicopterPilots
and NDRFpersonnel, and interviews of very concerned State Ministers and Centralministers were flashed continuously on all
newschannels.GreatdebateswereorganisedonTVshowsinthecomingdays,discussingifenoughisbeingdonebytheGovt
, and how people were coming forward with charity and help for theaffected . Song and dance shows were organised by
Bollywood and the Glamindustry, to raise funds for the relief. Tributes were paid to the dead and prayers were organised
tobringpeacetotheirsoul.Andyet,noquestionwasaskedaboutwhynooneturnedupatgroundzeroforthefirst03days
after the disaster. Why didthe state govt not react to the situation immediately, and who was toblame? Why was all credit of
therescuebeengiventotheFaujiBhai,whereasthePrivateHelicopterCompanieswerebeingquietlytoldtonotraisetheissue
andjusttakethepaymentforthehoursflownintherescue.
More importantly, why wasnt any credit of whatI did being given to me, without my asking or advertising it? True that I
hadturned down interviews with the TV guys at that time, as I was busy gettingpeople out alive from valley, but wasnt it
apparenttothem?Ihadriskedmylifeandlimb,anda$3millionHelicopterrepeatedlytosavelivesofpeople,tirelessly,and
withoutanycompulsiontodoso,inthetimethatrescuewasreallyneeded.WhattroubledmewasnotthatIwasntproclaimed
aHero,butthatIwasangryaboutitnow.IwastroubledwhenthemediamadesomeoneelsetheHeroforthatwork.Andhence
thequestion,amInotasshallowastherestofthem,secretlyseekingfame,thepublicity,theBraveryMedal!Wasmymotivation
reallythatshallowwhenIflewthosesorties?Wasthattheadrenalinrush,thatpushedmetoriskall,toflylikeatirelessdemon?
DidIreallycareforthesepeoplethatItriedtogetoutalive?Didanyonereally?Doesempathyforafellowhumanbeingreally
overwhelm anyone, or is it that in it lies disguised ahidden desire of being declared a hero , an extraordinary man, that the
worldmust admire and praise. Then wasnt the completely selfish, self publicisingperson more honest somehow. This has
botheredmeanditstilldoes,thisthoughtandthatgreeneyedoldwomanofmydream!

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botheredmeanditstilldoes,thisthoughtandthatgreeneyedoldwomanofmydream!
P.S:IntheKedarNathRescueoperations,04helicopterscrashedinthespaceof30dayskilling22people,including04Pilots
,03crewmembers..andwhileonepilotsurvivedwithinjuries.

Tags:

Gaurikund

kedarnathdisaster

ndmc

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