Pithoragarh, Jul 27 (PTI) Soldiers from the hilly areas of Uttarakhand had a major role to play in Operation Vijay launched to flush out Pakistani intruders from the Indian soil during the Kargil conflict, says Kargil war veteran Lt Gen (retd) M C Bhandari.
He said that Uttarakhand soldiers, being accustomed to the hilly and rugged terrain, were better equipped to grapple with the challenges at Kargil hills.
Operation Vijay was launched from May 3 to July 26, 1999, in which 527 Indian troops, including 74 jawans from Uttarakhand, sacrificed their lives.
“As the battle was to be fought at a height of above 16,000 feet, the army command ordered the regiments from the hill regions of the country to move first. The 12 Indian regiments belonging to Kumaon, Garhwal, Gurkha, Naga and Grenadiers were ordered to make place for artillery in high altitude rugged places of the steep Kargil hills,” Lt Gen (retd) Bhandari, who lives in Ranikhet post retirement, told PTI.
According to Bhandari, the initial sacrifice of Major Rajesh Adhikari, at Tololing hills gave a high level of confidence to troops advancing to high peaks to flush out the intruders.
“His great sacrifice near eight metres of his target, resulted in capturing 16986 feet high point 5240 hills, by Indian troops later,” he said.
“The second main target of the Indian troops was to capture Tiger hill. It was initiated by rifleman Dilip Singh Negi of Garhwal Rifles. Negi, along with his four comrades, climbed up Tiger hill and despite being badly injured gave a vital piece of information that enabled 18 grenadiers to capture Tiger hill,” said the Kargil war veteran.
The former army officer remembers the sacrifice of 11 soldiers of Garhwal Rifles, who died while battling to capture Jubar hill of Battalic region of Kargil.
“The great sacrifices of Dabal Singh of 18 Garhwal Rifles, in capturing point 5140, and point 4700 of Kargil, Major Vivek Gupta of Rajputana rifles in capturing Tololing, Saddal and point 4590, and sacrifice of Kuldeep Rawat and Mekh Bahadur Gurung in capturing Drass and Maskoh sectors can not be forgotten,” he said.
Bhandari also remembered the sacrifices of paratrooper Girish Singh Samant of 9 para, and Jawahar Singh Dhami of 2 Jammu and Kashmir regiment for their sacrifices in capturing Drass and Kargil sectors.
“The people of Uttarakhand have always been known for their courage. They displayed their bravery in the two World Wars also. In the first World War, Darban Singh Negi, a soldier, and rifleman Gabar Singh Negi were awarded the Victoria Cross — the highest British bravery award, while in World War II, Gaje Ghale from Uttarakhand was awarded the Victoria Cross,” the Kargil hero said. PTI CORR ALM ALM KVK KVK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.