Saddened by the death of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad, celebs like Rana Daggubati, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohanlal, Nikhil Siddhartha, Rakul Preet Singh, Lakshmi Manchu and Lavanya Tripathi have taken to expressing their grief in public.
Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad, who hailed from a farming family in the Dharwad district of Karnataka, was one of the 10 soldiersburied under snow on Feb. 3 in Siachen while guarding the Sonam post located at a height of around 20,500 feet in the Himalayas. He survived six days 25 feet under the snow, and was pulled out alive by rescuers on Monday.
He was admitted to the Army’s Research & Referral hospital in New Delhi, where he was put on ventilator. His condition steadily deteriorated due to multiple organ failure. He was in coma and battling for his life. He breathed his last at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday. Millions across the country, who were surprised by his providential survival under snow for six days, had been praying for his recovery for the past three days.
Many celebs were among the millions who prayed for Lance Naik Hanumanthappa’s recovery. An hour before his death, Akkineni Nagarjuna wrote on his Twitter account: “Lets all say a prayer for lance naik #Hanumanthappa/may he recover soon and get back to his family (sic)”
Behind the endurance is a rigorous training regimen to prepare soldiers for life in the unforgiving terrain.
Brigadier H.P.S. Bedi (retd) was commanding the 102 Brigade in 2003 when a company commander and a doctor serving in a post at 19,000 feet on the central Siachen glacier went on snow scooters to a post where someone was sick. But in between, the doctor went missing as he fell into a crevice. Till now, his body has not been found.
The incident of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa and nine others of 19 Madras Regiment reminded me of that incident recalled Brig. Bedi.
In another instance, Air Vice-Marshal Manmohan Bahadur, a helicopter pilot, evacuated many casualties but recalled one incident where he had to evacuate a Naga boy of 20 years suffering from cerebral oedema. “We picked him up and by the time we landed in minutes, he was dead. I cannot forget this to this day after over 20 years,” he said.
The miraculous survival of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa under 35 feet of snow for six days in Siachen glacier has brought to light the extreme difficulties our soldiers endure in patrolling the peaks of Soltoro ridge.
Behind the endurance there is a rigorous training regimen to prepare the men, both mentally and physically, for posting there.
Every Army unit has soldiers specialised in high altitude warfare trained at the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) at Gulmarg. These trainers impart initial training to their unit members if they were to do a posting in Siachen, said Brig. Narender Kumar (retd), Senior Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.
There are five parameters soldiers are trained for. Physical and medical fitness, skill in negotiating terrain, ability to withstand prolonged isolation, ability to be combat worthy over long time and survival and rescue in snow and the glacier.
To prepare for these, there are separate courses in mountaineering and winter warfare, Brig. Kumar, who served as instructor at HAWS, explained.
Despite the tough conditions, one would be surprised to know that soldiers and officers volunteer were present to serve there.
