PROBASHI- A Cultural News Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 | Page 15

Probashi-Cover Theme

Uttarakhand Flood Rescue

Prerogative of the Brave: Uttarakhand Flood Rescue & Relief
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man (woman) is not he (she) who does not feel
afraid, but he (she) who conquers that fear.”
Nelson Mandela
It was normal to be afraid at the sight of the swirling waters of flooded hilly rivers in the upper reaches of Uttarkahand on 14-19 June
2013. Thousands of pilgrims were stranded when the river broke its banks and swept away anyone and anything which fell on its way.
Thousands perished and many pilgrims were stuck at Kedarnath, Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib and Gangotri as well as in the villagers in
many rural hamlets. Some of these villages no longer exist on the map, having been swept away by the fury of the floods. While
everyone was trying to come down to safety from the upper reaches, some men and women were making their way uphill, as part of
one of India’s most difficult search and rescue effort. These individuals belonged to the army, para military forces, government
agencies, NGOs and individuals. It would be wrong to say they were not afraid at the sight of the devastation, as they negotiated
treacherous mountain tracks and crossed hilly rivers in full spate ,in many cases over slippery temporary bridges made of electricity
poles or tree trunks. But these men and women triumphed over their fear. While the media was beeming stories of the stranded
pilgrims, it somehow failed to give adequate footage to these extraordinary men and women, some of whom never came back home
from the slopes where they helped save so many lives. We provide a compilation of some of the stories of grit, gumption and
determination. We do so not only in recognition of the effort, but also for posterity to be inspired from. This compilation ofcourse is
not complete, there are numerous who have got left out, we will bring more such stories in the coming editions of Probashi.
We are grateful for this compilation to the Civil Society Corporate Partnership for Action (CPACT) Cell, setup in the Board of Revenue
office, Dehradun by the Government of Uttarakhand to coordinate the rehabilitation effort of the flood victims. CPACT is supported
by the IDFC Foundation.

The rain Gods were angry, the agencies were individuals who
torrential rain from 14 June to 17 braved the floods, some of them
ong say that
didnot
pounding of the heart when
June to 2013, these brave people you gushing at 100fear, while rescuing marooned you step on a makeshift bridge made our of
in upper reaches of experiencedied the hour.
even kms per
a electricity pole with water below
Uttrakhand led to one of India’s people. As a tribute and
most severe natural disasters in recognition to such individuals we
terms of human lives and property bring some stories of bravery, guts
loss. new tagline for Delhi is Uttarkashi, (magnamous Delhi), it has embraced the pauper and the king, poets and the worldly men,
The The districts of Dildaar Delhi
and gumption of people who saved
Chamoli, theRudraprayag,city has been the gateway toproperty,to many a timeshas been. It has seen the best and the worst,
Tehri, lives and India and Indians as Delhi
saints and
capitalists. No
there have and Bageshwar faced
bee
Pithoragarhbeen builders like Sahjehan and Lord Hardinge, there havecall destroyers like Nadir Shah, but Duldaar Delhi has been
going beyond the
of duty.
always ready to forget and forgive. Delhi has seen eight cities , the most contemporary being the one built by the British. The Imperial
the wrath of the rain gods. The Ofcourse the stories listed is not
Delhi later rechristened New Delhi left the footprint of British architecture amongst the large number of architectural styles the city has
flash floods particularly in in thecourt of Bhadhur Shah Zafar ,an indicator the best lines about Delhi
witnessed. Zauq , the poet laureate the
exhaustive but are probably said of
Mandakini, Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, what bravery is in practice.
The epicentre of the destruction by the
Pindar and Kali rivers caused
widespread
destruction
with The Twenty Brave Men: When it flash flood was Rudraprayag district
innumerable landslides all over the was time for the rescuers to come where the shrine of Kedarnath is
located. Other districts affected include
road network immobilizing pilgrims home, tragedy struck. On June 25th Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Tehri