Team News Riveting
Chennai, December 14
The Indian Army will adopt Nanjappa Sathiram village near Coonoor in the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu where the Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper carrying Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat crashed on December 8.
Besides General Rawat, his wife and Brigadier L S Lidder, 10 other personnel were killed when the highly sophisticated and secured Mi-17 crashed near Coonoor. The CDS along with the defence officials was flying from Sulur IAF station to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course.
Lieutenant General A Arun, General Officer Commanding of the Dakshin Bharat Area informed the headquarters’ decision to adopt Nanjappa Sathiram village near Coonoor in The Nilgiris. “The villagers of Nanjappa Sathiram will be adopted by Headquarters, Dakshin Bharat Area,” he said.
The villagers were the first to reach the place of the chopper crash site and started the rescue operation. Even a few were seen carrying water in buckets to douse the fire that engulfed the mighty Mi-17V5 after the crash.
Two villagers, Krishnasamy and Chandrakumar, who first witnessed the crash, had alerted the police and fire service personnel. They were handed over a cash award of Rs 5,000 each.
Lt Gen Arun said a medical camp would be conducted in the village every month till December 8, next year. “A doctor and a nurse will be sent every month to the village to do health checkups for the villagers. The villagers could also avail free consultation at the military hospital in Wellington,” he added.
The Indian Army has earlier felicitated the police, fireplace and rescue service personnel, forest workers and members of different government departments in addition to Army personnel for their efforts in rescuing individuals from the wreckage.
