In the register of daring rescue operations the armed forces have undertaken so far in Uttarakhand,the evacuation of about 1,500 pilgrims from a narrow valley in Jungle Chatti stands out. Not just for the perfect coordination between the army and the air force but also the extraordinary risks involved. The pilgrims had been stranded in Jungle Chatti a steep stretch of path between Gaurikund and Ram Bada set in a mountainside looming over a raging river and prone to landslides for five days without food or water. The first flash flood hit the valley of Kedarnath on the night of June 15,when it was teeming with pilgrims to and from the shrine. The flood cut down the footpath on either side and carried away dozens of pilgrims. So wide are the landslides on both sides that an alternate path would be required to climb up to the shrine. Since the pilgrims at Jungle Chatti had more reaction time to get out of the way given that it is downstream both of the worst-affected Ram Bada and Kedarnath Temple,many of them managed to climb up the mountain. But as the area lies in a narrow valley without any means of communication and out of the visual range of most aerial sorties,it took search teams four days to find a large number of people stranded on a small stretch of land. Soon after a passing helicopter located a few people in the area,efforts were made to airdrop essential supplies to them. The valley is so narrow and the gradient of the mountains so steep that all efforts to drop food and water were unsuccessful. The supplies went down in the river, said Lt Gen N S Bawa,GoC of Uttar Bharat. Then,the armed forces tried to land a helicopter on the narrow ledge which is all that is left of Jungle Chatti but the efforts came to nought,as did the attempts to slither troops because of strong winds and the limited space available. The narrow valley made Jungle Chatti the toughest place to fly in, said Col Suneet Sohal,who is leading the Army Aviations rescue work. The army men had only one option left. They jumped down from a Cheetah helicopter on the ledge. It was as dangerous a move as it could get one misstep could have sent them rolling down into the raging river below. They,however,managed to stand firm and quickly set up a makeshift helipad. The first helicopter landed soon. The first meal that most had was after five days when a chopper landed at Jungle Chatti. The number of sick and hungry kept on swelling as many came down from the mountains after seeing a chopper land, an army officer said. Then began perhaps the most intense air evacuation operation in Uttarakhand so far. The air force and the army moved at a blistering pace to airlift the pilgrims out to Gaurikund,from where bigger Mi-17 helicopter could operate,because even a slight dip in the weather would have made flying impossible in the valley. Dozens of seven-minute sorties evacuated 390 people from Jungle Chatti in a matter of hours on June 22,the fifth day since the flood. The next day,with bad weather looming,an even bigger air effort was set in motion to get out 540 pilgrims. About 200 more able-bodied pilgrims were moved out on foot by adventurous army men who managed to cut a steep path out. If this was a war effort,several pilots and soldiers would be in for some heavy-duty gallantry awards. Jungle Chatti,as of now,is completely evacuated. The people who will go there now are reconstruction teams but that will be another story, an army officer summed up the operation.
