PROBASHI- A Cultural News Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 | Page 20

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Uttarakhand Flood Rescue

A team of 12 people comprising of
mountaineering instructors and
seasoned porters from NIM was
constituted. The team was air
dropped at Chaumasi village in
Kalimath
valley.
Showing
extraordinary
courage,
determination and grit, this crack
team from NIM lead by Col Ajay
Kothiyal ( winner of three gallantry
awards and has climbed Mount
Everest) used their mountaineering
skills through extreme terrain,
raging
mountain
streams,
makeshift bridges , plunging ridges
and constant threat of landslides to
trace out an alternate land route to
the Kedarnath shrine. The nation
had put its best people on the job.
Beyond the Call of Duty: Border
Security Force personnel were
amongst the first to start
rehabilitation work in the flood
affected villages. The team lead by
Commandant Raj Kumar Negi in
quick time started relief and then
rehabilitation work in the Kalimath
valley. There work with military
precision and discipline meant that
villages marooned by the flood
were on their road to normalcy
much before other affected villages
could. Salute to these jawansBrave in war, Brave in peace
Heroism of a Different Kind:
Sarweshwari Devi from Village Teuri
lost her husband during the flash
floods at Kedarnath where he ran a
shop. She presently is a trainee at
the weaving training center at
Bangsu Jagdhar village near
Guptkashi. The center has been
started to rehabilitate the flood
victims by imparting skills for
livelihood. When we spoke to this
young widow we found a tremor in
her voice, her eyes had a far away
look and she did not seem to be
very confident. The flood has taken

BSF jawans along with local villagers building an embankment

a heavy toll on her. We inquired
about her from the trainers who
told us that she was one of the
best trainees. The flood might have
broken Sarweshwari Devi but could
not defeat her, she is threading
back her life.
These stories bring to mind a
question - What is bravery ?, is it in
the march of an army contingent in
battle fatigues, or shooting a bird
flying silently in the sky, or making
hate speeches asking for mayhem
against a community or religion. Or
is bravery in standing up alone
with compassion in the world of
selfish men, is it in walking across a
slippery bridge to save a fellow
human being, is it in helping an old
lady traverse a mountainaoeous
path to safety, or in carrying a baby
in the arm because her mother is
too fatigued to carry her. What is
bravery, we ask.

18

Sarweshwari Devi: Broken but not Defeated