An army officer recounts going from a beer party to picking up relief within hours in 2001

Unknown to us and to the rest of the nation, a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter about 9 km southwest of Chobari village in Bachao Taluka, Kutch District of Gujarat.

It was just before 9:00 a.m. on a cold Republic Day 2001 morning in the Bathinda assembly area. My wife and I were playing with our seven month old daughter at our military residence in the so called Old Officers Colony when we felt a strong jolt.

We both instinctively look at the ceiling. The fan was swaying to and fro like a pendulum some disaster. It took a moment or two before the logic of realization overcame the emotion of the shock, and we held all the others tight until the tremors stopped after a very, very long minute.

The number of victims of this massive earthquake, whose seismic waves were felt in almost every corner of India, has risen to 20,000. Photo obtained by the author

Unknown to us and to the rest of the nation at the time – there was no internet or the present large number of instant news channels – a massive earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale had its epicenter about nine kilometers southwest of Chobari village in Bhachau Taluka, hitting the Kutch district in Gujarat.

The toll of this massive earthquake, whose seismic waves were felt in almost every corner of India, later rose to 20,000 with more than 1.6 thousand injured.

Republic Day is more than just a national holiday in the Indian Army: New Petty Officers (JCOs) units of the Army are invited for a beer to the Officers’ Chaos. JCOs reciprocated on Independence Day by inviting their unit officers for a beer to the JCOs Club. I was a relatively young pioneer at the time.

The officers of the 111th Engineer Regiment, a unit nicknamed ‘Triplites’, as I was then serving as an Intelligence Officer (IO), and all JCOs invited for a beer at 11 am in the beautiful officers’ chaos overlooked a large area. water body.

Precariously sloping buildings were demolished so that no further damage could be caused. Image acquired by the author

Unaware of the disaster that struck more than 1,200 km in Gujarat, officers and JCOs duly assembled for a beer job that lasted until 12:30. All then retired to their dwellings, still unaware of what awaited them.

I had barely made it to my house and changed my uniform to take an afternoon nap which the doorbell rang, rather urgently. He was a dispatch rider (DR), one of those daring Enfield Bullet riders whose job it is to deliver important messages, come rain, shine, or enemy fire.

All officers of the regiment were called up by the commander (CO) of the Triplites, Colonel (later Brigadier General) KK Tiku, Sena Medal. The request said the dress didn’t matter; I realized that something was wrong as all the officers were called on such short notice on holiday.

As I slipped into the regiment in a tracksuit on my red Yamaha motorcycle, I saw a CO stick standing orderly in the parking lot and telling any officer arriving at the office immediately. It seems that all protocols are suspended: we are never asked to go to the office of CO for a conference without all the officers assembled first and led by the second commander in the regiment.

The rescue and relief operation was dubbed Operation Sahayta. Image acquired by the author

As I entered the CO office, I found two officers already sitting inside. Colonel TIKU got the point straight: A devastating earthquake had hit Gujarat and the unit had to move to the disaster area immediately for rescue and relief operations, called Operation Sahayta. Ali was assigned to be the liaison officer (LO) for the regiment.

I had exactly 30 minutes to get to Bhisiana Air Force Station, 22 kilometers from the Bhatinda Cantonment, in order to coordinate the movement of the regiment as four IL-76 transport planes were landing at 2.30 pm to carry the Triplites to Bhuj from where we had to proceed on Overland road to Bhachau.

I quickly touched three numbers as I rushed back home. Within five minutes, I was in combat gear while my wife hastily packed a suitcase. Soon, I’m on my way to Bhisiana Airport. Once there, he constantly attended calls on a solitary landline in a building crew of senior military officers in a chain of command, all wanting to know the status of the airlift.

Every second, every minute counts. It was a national emergency!

The regiment restored water and electricity supplies to Bhachau. Image purchased by the author

At 2:25 am, the 111th Engineer Regiment begins arriving at Bhisiana Airport. At 14:30 the first giant IL-76s fell. In just 10 minutes, three more of these awesome flying machines have descended.

All four IL-76s were loaded in double time, and at 3 pm the first of the four IL-76s took off with the next three. We landed about 45 minutes later. By 4 PM, all four Ilyushins had arrived. The runway and Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at Buj were damaged in the earthquake but the enterprising IAF personnel at Buj Air Station made temporary repairs to the runway and directed the four IL-76s at their radios while sitting in open ground next to the runway.

This was the first indication of the severity of the damage. We were the first regiment of the Indian Army to reach Gujarat under Operation Sahayta.

At least 70 civilian trucks were seized to transport the regiment to Bhachau, the city closest to the epicenter. Bhachau is located 80 kilometers from Bhuj.

The trio planes reached Bhachau for rescue and relief operations less than five hours after they were heard in Batinda. Image acquired by the author

Army vehicles of the regiment under the command of Captain (later Colonel) Subhash Raina, assistant regiment, moved overland from Batinda to Bhachau and connected to the regiment four days later.

Before 5:30, the Triplites had reached Bhachau, less than five hours after they appeared in Bathinda for rescue and relief. We traveled to the nightmarish landscape of collapsed buildings and iron beams sticking out through the masonry like fossils of prehistoric monsters. And everywhere there were funeral pyres, as well as the infernal side of the scene.

Wasting no time, disembarked a regiment of civilian trucks. Divided into 10 sub-task forces of a platoon force (about 50 men), each commanded by an officer, we turned into actions. The Bhachau was introduced on foot since all the roads in the city were covered with debris and vehicle movement was not possible.

The administrative detachment of the regiment soon located some open ground and pitched tents while the men participated in the rescue and relief operation. True to the motto of the Indian Army, the regiment operates around the clock without any rest.

In the period that followed which lasted for more than a month the regiment was in Bhachau, many people were rescued and the remains of the unfortunate people were recovered. The regiment also restored water and electricity supplies to Bhachau apart from running non-stop langars where food was cooked and distributed. Precariously sloping buildings were demolished so that no further damage could be caused.

Shelter camps were set up and run for the residents as nearly every home in Bhachau was damaged or destroyed. Image acquired by the author

The main focus of the first week is rescuing those inside still alive but trapped and under destroyed buildings and retrieving corpses for rituals of the past. A couple of accidents stays etched in my memory. On January 28 28just a few days after the Triplites had arrived in Bhachau, someone working for the suburban team Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Aaron drove came with a request that his mother’s remains be retrieved from their collapsed home.

The suburban captain and a few jawans immediately followed the man to his house. The ground floor of the house had been completely crushed by the two floors above. The body of the man’s mother lies in a broken part of the ground floor. Using drilling machines, a hole was created from the top of the debris to the ground floor. The Suburban Captain slipped inside this cavity, strapping the body to his back and crawling upwards. The man fell at the captain’s feet and cried and cried.

On February 1, Lieutenant-General (later Colonel) AK Rohankar rescued a teenager from the wreckage of a three-story building. As soon as this young man was pulled out of the rubble he wobbled to attention and saluted, singing the national anthem as loudly as he did. Everyone’s eyes turned moist and a long round of applause followed. This 16-year-old was the last person rescued alive, not only by Triplites but by any rescue and relief agency, in all of Gujarat.

Roads were cleared and relief items distributed. Shelter camps were set up and run for the residents as nearly every home in Bhachau was damaged or destroyed. Later schools began and activities for children organized to shift their minds from the trauma they had all seen for themselves.

The regiment’s area of ​​responsibility covered the entire Taluka Bhachau, reaching every village and house.

On February 28, after 33 days of round-the-clock operations, the 111th engineer regiment was removed from Op Sahayta. We were very tired, down to the last man, but content to do our best for our fellow countrymen in need.

In 2012, I had the chance to visit Bhachau. The city seemed to be reborn, the sight of new buildings and happy and busy people crying out for joy. It was truly amazing seeing the spirit in which Bahshaw City wore.

To thank the army for the support in difficult and difficult times during the earthquake, the people of Bahshaw built a monument of thanksgiving at the entrance to the town, in the exact same place where the regiment of civilian trucks disembarked on January 26. .

The writer is retired from the Corps of Engineers and is a graduate of NDA, Khadakwasla and IIT Kanpur. He is a master in structures apart from being an MBA and LLB. The opinions expressed are subjective.

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