JOIN US2 Army men from state feared killed in Siachen Glacier
Two soldiers, one from Hassan and another from Dharwad, are believed to be among those feared dead in the avalanche that struck Siachen Glacier on February 3.
An eerie silence filled the house of T T Nagesh of Tejuru, on the outskirts of Hassan, where his wife Asha and his two children Amit (11) and Preetham (7) live.
Nagesh was deputed to Siachen only a day before the accident and had informed his family about his posting over phone. The avalanche struck the following day and the government confirmed the death of all the 10 soldiers on Thursday.
According to sources, the Army office had called Nagesh’s relative on Thursday around 12 noon and informed that Nagesh may be among the 10 trapped under the glacier and efforts were on to trace them. However, they were not contacted again, said Annappa, Nagesh’s relative.
The news has left Asha and her children shocked and they are awaiting information from the Army. Neighbours and relatives have been visiting the family since yesterday.
Nagesh, 41, has been in service for 22 years and had visited Hassan about five months ago, said Annappa.
Nagesh was constructing a house at Tejuru and work was still in progress.
Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, the other Army man from the state killed in the avalanche, is a native of Betadur, a small village in Kundagol taluk of Dharwad district.
Till Friday night, there was no official communication from the Army to the family and even the office of the Superintendent of Police had not received any official communication.
Youngest of four
Hanamanthappa is the youngest of the four sons of Ramappa Koppad, who died a few years ago. Hanamanthappa was part of a joint family which owns three acres of land with his brothers engaged in farming. Hanamanthappa, who had been in the Army for 14 years, was married four years ago and has a two-year old daughter. He had visited the village six months ago.
Hanamanthappa’s eldest brother Govindappa said they had not received any information from the Army so far. “Hanamanthappa had called us on Tuesday and enquired about all of us. We have a few acquaintances working with him and they informed us that he had gone missing after the avalanche. We tried to contact him, but in vain. We came to know about his demise from the TV,” said Govindappa, whose son Ramappa is undergoing Army training at Bengaluru.