New Delhi: Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad’s wife Mahadevi says she is extremely happy after her husband was pulled out alive from under 25 feet of snow in Siachen six days after the accident. Speaking to IBNLive from Betadur village in Kundagola taluk of Dharwad district over telephone she said, "I really don’t know what to say. I am so happy. I want to be with him immediately. I don’t know when the Army will take me to the hospital in Delhi. My husband’s grandmother inspired him in his life. Her prayers are with him. She actually saved him from certain death in Siachen. It is a rebirth for all of us."
Mahadevi said that nobody from the government has contacted them so far to brief them about Hanamanthappa’s condition. "When the avalanche struck they informed us. Our world came down crashing down that day. We had no hope. We have a one and half years old daughter. I did not know what to say. All of us were crying all the time. Last night, we came to know through TV channels that he was found alive and taken to Army hospital. For the first time after the horrific incident, we smiled."
Trying to control her happiness, Mahadevi added that she now wants to go to Delhi to take care of her husband and media should convey it to the Army.
His mother 62-year-old Basamma said in Kannada, “Nan Maga Matte Hutti Bandana" (My son has got a rebirth). I want to see him at the earliest. Nobody from the government so far briefed us about his health condition. We are hoping that they will soon take us to Delhi."
Hanumanthappa’s cousin also told IBNLive the same thing. "He is a brave soldier. God has given him a new life. I am sure, he will survive. I am sad that others are not lucky like him."
After Kannada news channels started flashing the news that Hanamanthappa, a soldier of 19 Battalion of Madras Regiment, was found alive under the snow in Siachen, the entire Betadur village erupted with joy. Village elders rushed to his house to share the happy news. They even woke up others to celebrate the “rebirth" of a brave soldier from their village.
All of them want the Army to give Hanamanthappa the best available treatment and consider his name for a gallantry award. Hanamanthappa is from a poor farming background in the north Karnataka district of Dharwad.
A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and nine other ranks were buried under a mass of snow after their post was hit by the avalanche at the altitude of 19,600 feet close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan on February 2. While Lance Naik Hanamanthappa miraculously survived, the nine other soldiers of the same battalion have been declared dead. Rescue teams have located mortal remains of all the remaining 9 soldiers and they are being brought out from the Avalanche site.
The nine soldiers who met an unfortunate end are Subedar Nagesha TT, Havildar Elumalai, Lance Havildar S Kumar, Lance Naik Sudheesh B, Sepoy Mahesha PN, Sepoy Ganesan G, Sepoy Rama Moorthy N, Sepoy Mustaq Ahmed S and Sepoy Nursing Assistant Suryawanshi SV.
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