Leh: The ITBP is not only giving relief to
locals and tourists hit by the cloudburst and flash floods,
the force is also taking care of the daughter of one of its
own men after his wife and another child died in the incident.
Indo Tibetan Border Police `Havaldar` Dorje a resident of
Choglumsar village-- which borne the maximum brunt of natures`
fury-- was away at his post with the forces` 8th battalion in
Joshimath in Uttarakhand and had left behind his wife and two
little daughters.
When disaster struck the region, his wife and one child
were devoured by the flash floods while one daughter survived.
Since then, the force has become a family for Dorje and
his surviving daughter who is admitted to a hospital here. The
wives of other ITBP jawans and officers have collected money
for her treatment.
"While the men have been working tirelessly for the last
four days extricating dead bodies and rescuing the injured
from under the debris, Dorje`s tragedy has struck everyone," a
senior ITBP officer said.
According to Deepak Pandey, spokesperson of the border
guarding force, "the wives welfare association has cleared a
sum of Rs one lakh relief amount and another a lakh for
Dorje`s family from the welfare fund."
This is not the first instance where the personnel of the
force-- deployed to guard the 3,488-long Sino-Indian border--
also had to confront nature`s fury in the incident.
Shreejal, daughter of an ITBP officer, could be traced
for four hours after the cloudburst struck the picturesque
town and was found neck deep in slush in one of the buildings
in the ITBP campus.
Dorje, officials said, was keen to join the relief work
but was advised by the officers to take care of his daughter
who is still to come to terms with the tragedy that has hit
the family.
-PTI
