Tinsukia/Lakhimpur (Assam), Aug 23 (PTI) Two families in Assam’s Tinsukia and Lakhimpur towns are eagerly waiting for the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on moon as their scientist daughter-in-law and son, respectively, are involved in the Landing Control Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) mission at Sriharikota.
In Tinsukia, retired government employee Deepak Dev and his wife Sikha, the in-laws of 35-year-old senior scientist Nidhi Sharma, who is in the team helming the landing of Chandrayaan-3, are feeling proud that she is a part of this historic event and anxious about the success of the landing.
”Nidhi was a part of Chandrayaan-2 too, but last time she called us in disappointment after the mission did not work out as per plans. We are, however, hopeful that this time it will be positive and the hard work of all ISRO scientists, including my daughter-in-law, will bear fruit,” Dev told PTI.
His wife said their daughter-in-law is expecting her first child and ”we are very worried about her health”.
”When I tell her to follow a proper diet and take care of herself, Nidhi says she is now just concentrating on this mission and will think about herself only when this landing takes place,” Sikha said.
Nidhi is in the camp for the last one month and is ”hardly in touch with us or our son Dibakar Dev, who works in a multinational company in Bengaluru,” she added.
In neighbouring Lakhimpur district, the family members of another ISRO scientist Chayan Dutta, who was also a part of Chandrayaan 2, are keeping their fingers crossed for the soft landing on the moon.
Chayan’s father Rajani Kumar Dutta, a crockery shop owner, said he and his wife were praying for the successful landing on the moon.
”During Chandrayyan-2, I can’t forget my son calling us and crying like a child to say that they failed. This time, we are keeping our fingers crossed,” he told PTI.
Neighbours and friends of both the families are flocking to their homes and shop and hope to see the live streaming of the historic event together.
Meanwhile, prayers have been offered in several temples in Golaghat, Tezpur, Guwahati and other major towns of the state for the success of the mission.
Schools across the state have also made arrangements for the live streaming of the event.
The department of school education had issued a letter to the director of elementary education, secondary education, State Council of Education, Research and Training (SCERT) and the managing director of Adarsh Vidyalaya have been directed to organise special assemblies in all the schools of the state in coordination with the Sarba Shiksha Abhiyan, Assam, to facilitate viewing of the event by all school students.
ISRO has also announced live coverage which will be accessible on various platforms, including the ISRO website, YouTube channel, Facebook, and DD National TV.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will join students at Rajdhar Bora High School in Guwahati to witness the landing. PTI DG DG MNB
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