03 July 2013 : I knew even before I left Dehradun for
Pithoragarh that this district is not the worst affected. However, I also knew
that I had not been sent here on a paid tour. The UN and government must have
had a specific reason to put me on this visit to Pithoragarh. At the airport
which had just a small little concrete roof of about 10ft x 10 ft passage way
that had been converted into the control room with the district Collector Mr.
Neeraj Kherwal IAS sitting and the 2nd Commandant of ITBP (Mr.
Martolia, because he is from a village called Martoli) in Pithoragarh guiding
the ITBP jawans and camps across the hills, and both of them giving briefs to
the IAF helicopter captains….and several satellite phones and wireless systems
set up to ensure flow of communication, and couple of tents and over 20
civilian and para-military vehicles lying on the side…. It all gave you an
impression of you have landed in the midst of an English action thriller.
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| The district collector explaining about the disaster using map. |
The Collector (also known as the District Magistrate) was
very welcoming, honest about the disaster, explained the current situation
through a map of the hills drawn by the ITBP that had been placed on a small
display board. We could question him about the government’s response. Then we
went to meet the District Disaster Management Officer Mr. B.S. Rana at his
office, and thereafter to the ITBP camp for further discussion on the
logistics. Mr. Martolia took us into a
large hall that is used for educating the young soldiers. The hall had a three
dimensional replica of the region mentioning where the Indian villages are,
borders are, various security camps are and where various passes and passage
routes are. This was extremely important for us to understand which route we
must be taking, and which we must avoid. This discussion was educative as well,
as we decided to make a strategic change: Our team will be divided into two:
two men will go to Dharchula and three of us will go Musiyari, and these two
towns will be used as our bases to visit other damaged villages. As a guide and
security, Mr. Martolia also offered to provide us with a soldier each so that
each team is safe and comfortable in the unknown region. (The maps we saw are security sensitive and
so we were asked to delete them from cameras.)
We were tired as it was already 8.15 pm, and I had to update
several persons about the present plans, logistics etc, We checked in at
Punetha Inn after a little bargain on the rates. The manager of the hotel was
accommodating, and we went to bed by 11.00 pm after a vegetarian meal.
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