June is among the hottest months in North India. It is also vacation time and traditionally, families head to the hills to take a holiday. Uttarakhand, a hill state in the Himalayas, also known as the ‘Land of Gods’, is a popular destination. Two of India’s most holy rivers, Ganges and Yamuna, originate from the state. Among the upper reaches of the Himalayas are also two famous Hindu shrines, Kedarnath and Badrinath, and the Sikh shrine Hemkunt Sahib Gurudwara. These are located at altitudes of 3,600 to 4,200 metres. The state is 93 per cent mountainous and has 63 per cent forest cover. Of the 28,508 km of roads, only 1,328 km are national highways and 1,543 km are state highways. With insignificant rail network, the connectivity in the state is far from modern. The population of 11 million plays host to nearly similar number of tourists. The state’s fragile ecology and poor infrastructure are overwhelmed with these numbers.

The state has only two airports one each at Dehradun and Pantnagar, both in the plains. The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have built some helipads over the years. Private helicopter operators run helicopter services to the shrines during the tourist season. There is paucity of aviation and logistics support infrastructure in the state that necessitate improvisation of helipads to cater to contingencies.

Air Power in Action

June 14-16 this year was witness to one of the heaviest downpours resulting in widespread landslides and flash floods, suddenly inundating large parts of the state and causing death and destruction on a massive scale. About 1,00,000 tourists were stranded in areas that were rendered inaccessible and thousands more were swept away in this unprecedented fury of nature, described as the ‘Himalayan Tsunami’. The state Disaster Management Minister Yashpal Arya said: “At least 5,000 people may have been killed.”

As always, the Indian armed forces were the first to get into action. Defence Minister A.K. Antony went into a huddle with the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Chief of Army Staff General Bikram Singh and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for immediate disaster relief operations. With bridges and roads washed away, the air had to be the dominant medium for all rescue operations. The air operation was code named ‘Operation Rahat’. Action began on June 17 when the weather first began to clear up. The Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130J of the IAF with electro-optical and infrared cameras mounted on its chin, which allow all-weather penetration, were used to reconnaissance the area to assess the extent of damage and clear air operations. Emergency helipads were created at Rambada near Kedarnath and at Gaurikund to land the larger Mi-17 helicopter. The existing helipad at Sahasradhara near Badrinath was activated. Helipads at Guptakashi and Gauchar were already operational.

The IAF launched the ‘biggest heli-lift’ ever. The 45 aircraft of the IAF pressed into service included a mix of fixed- and rotarywing platforms. Transport aircraft deployed included the C-130J Super Hercules, the medium-lift An-32 and Dorniers. The rotarywing fleet included the heavy-lift Mi-26, medium-lift Mi-17 1V and V5, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)-built Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) and the Cheetah. By June 30, the IAF had flown over 2,137 sorties, dropped or landed 3,36,930 kg of relief material and equipment as also air-lifted about 15,000 stranded pilgrims. Also extricated were the 14 members of the Spanish mountaineering team stuck at a height of 6,000 metres. “Our helicopter rotors will not stop churning till we get each one of you out; do not lose hope and just hang on there,” said Air Chief Marshal Browne, who is at the helm of a highly professional air force. “Exercise Live Wire, the biggest ever air force exercise in India conducted recently, greatly helped us train and hone our skills in many areas including disaster management,” he said.

One of the first pilots to reach the shrine at Kedarnath was Wing Commander S.M. Yunus, Commanding Officer of Sarsawabased 152 Helicopter Unit. His statement: “In the Air Force we are taught only one religion—to be an Indian,” endeared him to the entire nation. Commenting on the operations in the upper reaches of the state, Air Commodore Rajesh Issar, an ace helicopter pilot, overseeing operations at Jolly Grant Airfield at Dehradun, said, “The magnitude of the operation is staggering.” Each aircraft undertakes six to seven flights per day totalling to around 300 helicopter sorties every day. When a rescued passenger thanked the pilot Squadron Leader Manoj Gautam with folded hands in gratitude, he humbly said, “We are doing our duty, and the credit must go to all the armed forces and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).” Wing Commander Gerard Galway, a key coordinating officer, said, “I have never seen anything like this. It is a global scale operation and we are here for the long haul.” Ten helicopters of the Indian Army and a few from the civil domain were also engaged in the rescue effort. Troops of the Indian Army and the ITBP were deployed in fairly large numbers and given the difficult and inhospitable terrain, saving lives was the first priority. The aged, the injured and children were evacuated on priority basis. “Weather continues to hamper operations. I have been sitting in the cockpit since morning for the weather to clear up,” said retired Wing Commander R.S. Brar, operating a civil helicopter. The heavy-lift Mi-26 helicopter airlifted heavy equipment of the BRO to facilitate road repair and reconstruction.

The AN-32 aircraft airlifted bridging equipment. Paramedics and engineers were also dropped in inaccessible areas to support ground-based rescue operations. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) helped locate survivors. Food packets and medicines were air-dropped for the stranded. Teams of doctors were airlifted to each region. Despite inclement weather, the C-130J aircraft landed at Dharasu on a specially activated semi-prepared runway only 1,300 feet long. On landing, the aircraft defuelled 8,000 litres of fuel into an empty bowser (tanker containing fuel) which was airlifted earlier from Sarsawa by a Mi-26 helicopter. With availability of additional fuel, rescue operations picked up pace. In subsequent trips, the C-130J Super Hercules brought medical teams and ferried out the sick.

Salute to the Air Warriors

After reviewing the situation with the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Service Chiefs, Defence Minister A.K. Antony made it clear that no stone would be left unturned in the rescue work. “Our efforts will continue till the last survivor is rescued and brought to safety.” On June 25, one Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the IAF while returning from a rescue mission crashed north of Gaurikund. The 20 persons onboard including five crew members, sustained fatal injuries. “We are grieving but will finish the job. We owe it to the lives of our people we have lost, that we sustain the mission and complete it successfully,” said the Air Chief during his visit to the accident site. Operation Rahat proved once again that air power is the final saviour. The media brought to every home the images of selfless devotion to duty of the proud air warriors. For the men and women in uniform, the nation comes first always and every time. One wishes that this spirit prevailed in each and every Indian.