The city witnessed its 10th successful heart transplant surgery on a 48-year-old female, who was suffering from Dilated Cardiomyopathy, on Wednesday.
The woman was gifted a new lease of life by a 50-year-old female, who was declared brain dead after she suffered a head injury in a train accident, and was being treated at a hospital in Thane. The family consented to donate her organs to save lives of five deserving recipients through her heart, kidneys, liver and corneas. The transportation of the donor heart between the two hospitals was completed in 8 minutes covering a distance of over 12 kms.
Following the pre-decided route from Eastern Express Highway, Airoli Junction and Fortis Hospital, Mulund, the ambulance commenced with the preserved heart at 7.23 am, and reached Fortis Hospital, Mulund at 7.31 am. The traffic authorities quickly cleared the traffic on the roads and stalled the red lights in perfectly synchronised manner to enable the donor heart to travel to the hospital in record time.
On successful completion of the heart transplant surgery, conducting surgeon, Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Transplant Team, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, said, “We are proud to reach this milestone. There cannot be anything nobler than to save someone’s life. The donors and their families deserve the greatest applause as they saved so many lives through this noble cause of organ donation.”
Speaking about the heart transplant surgery, Dr Mulay further said, “The surgery was successfully completed. We’ve moved the patient to the ICU where she will be monitored round the clock for the next 48-72 hours.”
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Deonar-fire-dump-s.jpg
A fire had engulfed Deonar dumping ground recently with its smoke spreading over to far suburbs. This led to uproar from citizens and activists who demanded the closure of the ground. The contract of the company managing affairs at the ground had ended on January 30 and BMC has taken over operations since then.
On January 22 and 30, the contractor had sent a notice to the BMC asking for Rs 36 crore for premature termination of agreement. In turn, the BMC has now sent them a notice stating that it should pay them for the expenses incurred while dousing the fire. This, because the fire broke out on the 27th while the contractor was still in control.
The matter was discussed in the standing committee on Wednesday. "Of course the contractor is responsible. He should reimburse the BMC. Instead he is threatening legal action if we don't pay his dues," said Devendra Amberkar, leader of opposition.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Kiran-Nagarkar-s.jpg
*Kiran Nagarkar*
To begin on February 20 at St Xavier's College, the two-day Lit-O-Fest will hand out awards not to bestsellers but manuscripts. Established writers and publishers will interact with amateurs. Fest organiser Smita Parikh, says, “It is difficult for an aspiring author to get published in India.
We wished to bridge the gap between author and publisher. And we got a fantastic response last year.” Drop in and watch Narendra Kohli, Kiran Nagarkar and Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai being felicitated at the event.
*Melbourne hails Bijoy Jain*
Architect Bijoy Jain, who divides his time between Mumbai and Alibaug, where he runs the influential Studio Mumbai, just added another feather to his cap.
The recipient of the Grande Medaille d’Or received from the Academie D’Architecture in Paris, Jain has recently been commissioned by Australia’s Naomi Milgrom Foundation to design the third edition of MPavilion, an annual design event held in Melbourne.
“One of the world’s most fascinating architects”, as Milgrom called him, the very charming Jain will create a unique architectural layout for the historic Queen Victoria Gardens that are scheduled to host talks, workshops, performances and installations over four months starting October.
Commissioned artists are usually selected based on the strength of their international profile and ability to encourage design debate.
*Enter the dragon**Pic/Onkar Develekar*
A dragon dancer performs outside a Churchgate eatery as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations organised by Mumbai's Chinese community which believes the dragon is a good omen and can ward off evil.
*Love in packages*
Don’t judge a book by its cover, but if an exciting gift gets a drab wrapping, you’d be tempted to diss it, right? A New York-based graphic design studio called Design by Nasha is offering a unique gift wrapping service for Valentine’s.*Gift wrapping paraphernalia by the studio*
Together with a set of ‘Love You’ mini note cards, gift bags, wine skins, gift tissues and wrapping sheets, the designer hopes Mumbaikars will ensure cupid strikes.
*Making music minus jugaad*
Go #AntiJugaad, the latest ad campaign from Prasoon Pandey’s stable, has been creating quite the stir online, already having gathered more than 8 lakh views.*Dhruv Ghanekar*
We liked the Folksy background score credited to Dhruv Ghanekar. “The film looks at jugaad which is in the DNA of all Indians,” says Ghanekar referring to the knack for finding a low-cost solution to a problem in an intelligent way.
“Unlike the visuals, I didn’t want the music to be quirky. If you take away the lyrics, the track is in fact, romantic, with a Punjabi Folk feel,” he concludes.*Pic/Pradeep Dhivar*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Rescue-operation-s.jpg*Rescue operation in progress at Murud beach after the students drowned last week. Pic/Shadab Khan*
The meeting was called by the Murud-Janjira Municipal Council. The police, council members, administrative officers, Disaster Management Cell staff, Emergency Medical Unit staff, and local residents, especially fishermen, and representatives of two NGOs, Astitva Life Saving from Pune, and the Uran-based Nagarik Saurakshan Dal attended it.
Umesh Patil, tehsildar of Murud-Janjira said they had been trying to appoint life guards. He said, “The incident is unfortunate. In December 2015, a huge crowd had come to the beach to celebrate. Since then, we had been trying to get trained lifeguards from a couple of organisations, but as they were not available, we had to postpone the idea.”
Vandana Gulwe, chief officer at the council said they will soon appoint the trained lifeguards. “We had called a meeting of all the units so that we can work together as a team. With the help of the NGOs, we have short-listed some 20 youngsters who will be trained as lifeguards. The training will be sponsored by us and the guards will get certificates. The test for youngsters was to swim more than 500 metres in the sea and their timing was recorded. These 20 lifeguards will work day and night, in two shifts and teams of 10,” she said.
Another officer said, “The lifeguard wages will be about R5,000 tentatively, as per the norms laid down under the Minimum Wages Act. We have also prepared additional budgets of Rs 2 lakh for boats and other emergency equipment. We also plan to mark the prohibited areas and place warning boards.”
Dhanraj Shegadu (35), a local resident and fisherman who helped the police and has rescued out some six people in the past three years, was appointed as a lifeguard after the meeting.
For two and a half hours before the meeting, the NGO members trained some local residents and administrative officers for rescue. They were taught how to use plastic bottles as lifejackets during an emergency.
Santosh Ranjankar, a local resident, said, “Since the incident on February 1, there are few tourists, even though it’s the season. But the meeting was fruitful and fishermen and youth will get jobs if they are deployed as lifeguards.”*No picnics for students*
Dr Narendra Kadu, registrar of Savitribai Phule Pune University has issued a notification to its departments to temporarily suspend academic tours and picnics for students.
Dr Kadu said, “After analysing the incident at Murud-Janjira, we are proposing new guidelines for picnics that must be followed by all. Till then, there is a temporary stay on such picnics.”
“If tickets have been arranged and cannot be cancelled, then the head of the department will be responsible for the tours.
The students’ security and geographical information of the picnic spot must be studied and departments must be well versed with the surrounding resources,” he added.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Joyal-Kochik-Edigula-s.jpg*Joyal Kochik Edigula and his mother Sossama (centre) with the child protection officers who persuaded him to return*
Joyal Kochik Edigula, who lives in Thane’s Balkum area with his parents and is an FYJC (Science) student at Baptist High School and Junior College, had fled to the Kerala capital, which is close to their native village, on January 25. Cops identified his location by tracking his mobile phone but had trouble contacting him as he used to switch it off often.
When they finally got through, they counselled him and told him that he won’t be scolded or beaten for his academic failure and asked him to return home. The child protection officers — Assistant Sub-Inspector A A Shaikh and Police Constable Ajay Farate — counselled the minor. “We counselled him to come back and take help from psychiatrists. We helped him understand that this was the first time he had failed in five subjects and he hasn’t lost the year. He can study well for the upcoming final exams and achieve good marks. We also assured him that his parents will not shout at him but encourage him,” said Farate.
*When he went 'missing'*
On January 25, Joyal left home to go to college at 1 pm as usual, but when he hadn’t come back by 9.30 pm, his parents informed the police. “He told his mother that he was going to college and would return by 7 pm, like every day. But when he got late and wasn’t reachable on his phone, his parents enquired about him in the neighbourhood and then approached the Kapurbawadi police station on January 26 to register a kidnapping case,” said Police Sub-Inspector Rajeev More, child protection unit, Thane Crime Branch. A case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code was registered.
Joyal boarded a train from Thane railway station to Thiruvananthapuram without a ticket. He had R240, which he used to survive on vada pav and street food while roaming the streets of the city.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Sunil-and-Rekha-s.jpg*Sepoy Sunil Suryawanshi and his wife Rekha on their day of their wedding*
Sepoy Nursing Assistant Sunil Suryawanshi was a soldier of the 19 Madras Regiment and was amongst the 10 soldiers who were trapped and killed by a massive avalanche at Siachen on February 3. The Army declared that they were dead on February 5. 25-year-old Suryawanshi was originally from the Army Medical Corps (AMC). He hailed from Maskarwadi village in Mand in Satara.
This is Maskarwadi’s second loss in a span of two and half months. The village lost another son, Martyr Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who was a commanding officer of the 41 Rashtriya Rifles on November 17 last year. Mahadik died in a gun battle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Suryawanshi was recruited as a sepoy in 2012, when he was in his second year of Bachelors in Science degree. Sunil’s father Vitthal and mother Sangita are farmers who have struggled a lot to educate their sons. Sunil’s mother Sangita said, "He was inspired by patriotic films and wanted to join the Army ever since he was a child. His posting at Siachen was a dream posting, because he loved nature and the mountains, especially the blue and white ones."
She added, "Two months ago, he left for his posting and promised me that he will return soon. He asked me to take care of the family in his absence and assured me that this time when he comes home, he will stay for a longer time. He will come soon, God is not so cruel."
Sunil’s elder brother Tanaji who works in a bank in Satara said, "We received a call on Tuesday, informing us about his death. Till yesterday, we were hoping for him to be alive. But now, we still cannot digest it [that he is dead]. At present, only my father and I are aware of his death. We have not yet told his wife and my mother." Tanaji said that his mother and Rekha have been told that Sunil is one of the two injured soldiers and is currently undergoing treatment.
He added, "Prior to going for his mission [in Siachen], he called us and said he had to change his location because of the change in climate. He said he would not able to speak to us for two weeks at least, and asked us to not worry about him, promising that he will return soon."
The Suryawanshis were going to conduct a house warming in their brand new home on Sunil’s return, along with his daughter Tanuja’s second birthday, on February 19. Rekha said, "He had asked me to gift our daughter a gun and a doll on his behalf, for her birthday on February 19. Sunil loved weapons. He had also suggested having the house warming ceremony with Tanuja’s birthday, so that all of our neighbours could gather and have fun."
*A teacher remembers*
Remembering her student, Sunil’s school teacher Vandana Surywanshi-Bhosale, from the Primary District School in Maskarwadi said, "Sunil was better known as Sonya by his school friends. He was the most talented boy in my class. I was his class teacher from class second till fourth. He was not only good in studies but was also good at games. He was fond of cricket and was a patriot. He was an all-rounder and a good debater.
She added, "I still remember how his classmates left school and started working in farms, but Sunil would walk to the other village daily to complete his studies till the tenth standard. He was also assisting his father in the farm during his school days. He was a respectful person. Last year, when I visited the school, he had called me over for lunch. He was a very down to earth man."Rocky road to the martyrâÂÂs homeMartyr Sunil Suryawanshi's mortal remains will reach his village by Friday. However, the roads leading to his home are not in a good condition. While the local authorities have started working on the road, a dispute has arisen in between two villagers whose land is being used for the road.
Mohan Patil, a local, said, "The roads are in such a bad condition and there is not even a proper road to peacefully bring his mortal remains to his house. To overcome this issue, the local administrative bodies commenced work [on the road] but two farmers were fighting amongst themselves on a personal land issue. But, that has been resolved. The repair will finish by Wednesday night."
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Devotees-s.jpg*Devotees pray for the long life of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad on the banks of Ganga in Allahabad yesterday. Pics/PTI*
"The brave solider displayed a high degree of initiative and has served 10 years in difficult and challenging areas out of 13 years of total service," a senior army officer said.
Hanamanthappa, who hails from Karnataka, was found alive on Monday, trapped under 25-feet of snow for six days after an avalanche hit his post at an altitude of 19,600 feet close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan. The temperature at that altitude was -45 degrees Celsius.
*Highly motivated*
"The 33-year-old serving soldier, who was enrolled in 19th Battalion of the Madras Regiment on October 25, 2002, is highly motivated and physically fit...He opted for challenging terrains from the beginning. Her has served in Mahore (J&K) from 2003 to 2006, where he was actively involved in counter insurgency operations. He again volunteered to serve with 54 Rashtriya Rifles (Madras) from 2008 to 2010 where he displayed indomitable courage and gallantry in fighting terrorism during his tenure," the officer added. Reported by Mid-Day 12 hours ago.
The woman was gifted a new lease of life by a 50-year-old female, who was declared brain dead after she suffered a head injury in a train accident, and was being treated at a hospital in Thane. The family consented to donate her organs to save lives of five deserving recipients through her heart, kidneys, liver and corneas. The transportation of the donor heart between the two hospitals was completed in 8 minutes covering a distance of over 12 kms.
Following the pre-decided route from Eastern Express Highway, Airoli Junction and Fortis Hospital, Mulund, the ambulance commenced with the preserved heart at 7.23 am, and reached Fortis Hospital, Mulund at 7.31 am. The traffic authorities quickly cleared the traffic on the roads and stalled the red lights in perfectly synchronised manner to enable the donor heart to travel to the hospital in record time.
On successful completion of the heart transplant surgery, conducting surgeon, Dr Anvay Mulay, Head of Cardiac Transplant Team, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, said, “We are proud to reach this milestone. There cannot be anything nobler than to save someone’s life. The donors and their families deserve the greatest applause as they saved so many lives through this noble cause of organ donation.”
Speaking about the heart transplant surgery, Dr Mulay further said, “The surgery was successfully completed. We’ve moved the patient to the ICU where she will be monitored round the clock for the next 48-72 hours.”
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Deonar-fire-dump-s.jpg
A fire had engulfed Deonar dumping ground recently with its smoke spreading over to far suburbs. This led to uproar from citizens and activists who demanded the closure of the ground. The contract of the company managing affairs at the ground had ended on January 30 and BMC has taken over operations since then.
On January 22 and 30, the contractor had sent a notice to the BMC asking for Rs 36 crore for premature termination of agreement. In turn, the BMC has now sent them a notice stating that it should pay them for the expenses incurred while dousing the fire. This, because the fire broke out on the 27th while the contractor was still in control.
The matter was discussed in the standing committee on Wednesday. "Of course the contractor is responsible. He should reimburse the BMC. Instead he is threatening legal action if we don't pay his dues," said Devendra Amberkar, leader of opposition.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Kiran-Nagarkar-s.jpg
*Kiran Nagarkar*
To begin on February 20 at St Xavier's College, the two-day Lit-O-Fest will hand out awards not to bestsellers but manuscripts. Established writers and publishers will interact with amateurs. Fest organiser Smita Parikh, says, “It is difficult for an aspiring author to get published in India.
We wished to bridge the gap between author and publisher. And we got a fantastic response last year.” Drop in and watch Narendra Kohli, Kiran Nagarkar and Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai being felicitated at the event.
*Melbourne hails Bijoy Jain*
Architect Bijoy Jain, who divides his time between Mumbai and Alibaug, where he runs the influential Studio Mumbai, just added another feather to his cap.
The recipient of the Grande Medaille d’Or received from the Academie D’Architecture in Paris, Jain has recently been commissioned by Australia’s Naomi Milgrom Foundation to design the third edition of MPavilion, an annual design event held in Melbourne.
“One of the world’s most fascinating architects”, as Milgrom called him, the very charming Jain will create a unique architectural layout for the historic Queen Victoria Gardens that are scheduled to host talks, workshops, performances and installations over four months starting October.
Commissioned artists are usually selected based on the strength of their international profile and ability to encourage design debate.
*Enter the dragon**Pic/Onkar Develekar*
A dragon dancer performs outside a Churchgate eatery as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations organised by Mumbai's Chinese community which believes the dragon is a good omen and can ward off evil.
*Love in packages*
Don’t judge a book by its cover, but if an exciting gift gets a drab wrapping, you’d be tempted to diss it, right? A New York-based graphic design studio called Design by Nasha is offering a unique gift wrapping service for Valentine’s.*Gift wrapping paraphernalia by the studio*
Together with a set of ‘Love You’ mini note cards, gift bags, wine skins, gift tissues and wrapping sheets, the designer hopes Mumbaikars will ensure cupid strikes.
*Making music minus jugaad*
Go #AntiJugaad, the latest ad campaign from Prasoon Pandey’s stable, has been creating quite the stir online, already having gathered more than 8 lakh views.*Dhruv Ghanekar*
We liked the Folksy background score credited to Dhruv Ghanekar. “The film looks at jugaad which is in the DNA of all Indians,” says Ghanekar referring to the knack for finding a low-cost solution to a problem in an intelligent way.
“Unlike the visuals, I didn’t want the music to be quirky. If you take away the lyrics, the track is in fact, romantic, with a Punjabi Folk feel,” he concludes.*Pic/Pradeep Dhivar*
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Rescue-operation-s.jpg*Rescue operation in progress at Murud beach after the students drowned last week. Pic/Shadab Khan*
The meeting was called by the Murud-Janjira Municipal Council. The police, council members, administrative officers, Disaster Management Cell staff, Emergency Medical Unit staff, and local residents, especially fishermen, and representatives of two NGOs, Astitva Life Saving from Pune, and the Uran-based Nagarik Saurakshan Dal attended it.
Umesh Patil, tehsildar of Murud-Janjira said they had been trying to appoint life guards. He said, “The incident is unfortunate. In December 2015, a huge crowd had come to the beach to celebrate. Since then, we had been trying to get trained lifeguards from a couple of organisations, but as they were not available, we had to postpone the idea.”
Vandana Gulwe, chief officer at the council said they will soon appoint the trained lifeguards. “We had called a meeting of all the units so that we can work together as a team. With the help of the NGOs, we have short-listed some 20 youngsters who will be trained as lifeguards. The training will be sponsored by us and the guards will get certificates. The test for youngsters was to swim more than 500 metres in the sea and their timing was recorded. These 20 lifeguards will work day and night, in two shifts and teams of 10,” she said.
Another officer said, “The lifeguard wages will be about R5,000 tentatively, as per the norms laid down under the Minimum Wages Act. We have also prepared additional budgets of Rs 2 lakh for boats and other emergency equipment. We also plan to mark the prohibited areas and place warning boards.”
Dhanraj Shegadu (35), a local resident and fisherman who helped the police and has rescued out some six people in the past three years, was appointed as a lifeguard after the meeting.
For two and a half hours before the meeting, the NGO members trained some local residents and administrative officers for rescue. They were taught how to use plastic bottles as lifejackets during an emergency.
Santosh Ranjankar, a local resident, said, “Since the incident on February 1, there are few tourists, even though it’s the season. But the meeting was fruitful and fishermen and youth will get jobs if they are deployed as lifeguards.”*No picnics for students*
Dr Narendra Kadu, registrar of Savitribai Phule Pune University has issued a notification to its departments to temporarily suspend academic tours and picnics for students.
Dr Kadu said, “After analysing the incident at Murud-Janjira, we are proposing new guidelines for picnics that must be followed by all. Till then, there is a temporary stay on such picnics.”
“If tickets have been arranged and cannot be cancelled, then the head of the department will be responsible for the tours.
The students’ security and geographical information of the picnic spot must be studied and departments must be well versed with the surrounding resources,” he added.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Joyal-Kochik-Edigula-s.jpg*Joyal Kochik Edigula and his mother Sossama (centre) with the child protection officers who persuaded him to return*
Joyal Kochik Edigula, who lives in Thane’s Balkum area with his parents and is an FYJC (Science) student at Baptist High School and Junior College, had fled to the Kerala capital, which is close to their native village, on January 25. Cops identified his location by tracking his mobile phone but had trouble contacting him as he used to switch it off often.
When they finally got through, they counselled him and told him that he won’t be scolded or beaten for his academic failure and asked him to return home. The child protection officers — Assistant Sub-Inspector A A Shaikh and Police Constable Ajay Farate — counselled the minor. “We counselled him to come back and take help from psychiatrists. We helped him understand that this was the first time he had failed in five subjects and he hasn’t lost the year. He can study well for the upcoming final exams and achieve good marks. We also assured him that his parents will not shout at him but encourage him,” said Farate.
*When he went 'missing'*
On January 25, Joyal left home to go to college at 1 pm as usual, but when he hadn’t come back by 9.30 pm, his parents informed the police. “He told his mother that he was going to college and would return by 7 pm, like every day. But when he got late and wasn’t reachable on his phone, his parents enquired about him in the neighbourhood and then approached the Kapurbawadi police station on January 26 to register a kidnapping case,” said Police Sub-Inspector Rajeev More, child protection unit, Thane Crime Branch. A case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code was registered.
Joyal boarded a train from Thane railway station to Thiruvananthapuram without a ticket. He had R240, which he used to survive on vada pav and street food while roaming the streets of the city.
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Sunil-and-Rekha-s.jpg*Sepoy Sunil Suryawanshi and his wife Rekha on their day of their wedding*
Sepoy Nursing Assistant Sunil Suryawanshi was a soldier of the 19 Madras Regiment and was amongst the 10 soldiers who were trapped and killed by a massive avalanche at Siachen on February 3. The Army declared that they were dead on February 5. 25-year-old Suryawanshi was originally from the Army Medical Corps (AMC). He hailed from Maskarwadi village in Mand in Satara.
This is Maskarwadi’s second loss in a span of two and half months. The village lost another son, Martyr Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who was a commanding officer of the 41 Rashtriya Rifles on November 17 last year. Mahadik died in a gun battle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Suryawanshi was recruited as a sepoy in 2012, when he was in his second year of Bachelors in Science degree. Sunil’s father Vitthal and mother Sangita are farmers who have struggled a lot to educate their sons. Sunil’s mother Sangita said, "He was inspired by patriotic films and wanted to join the Army ever since he was a child. His posting at Siachen was a dream posting, because he loved nature and the mountains, especially the blue and white ones."
She added, "Two months ago, he left for his posting and promised me that he will return soon. He asked me to take care of the family in his absence and assured me that this time when he comes home, he will stay for a longer time. He will come soon, God is not so cruel."
Sunil’s elder brother Tanaji who works in a bank in Satara said, "We received a call on Tuesday, informing us about his death. Till yesterday, we were hoping for him to be alive. But now, we still cannot digest it [that he is dead]. At present, only my father and I are aware of his death. We have not yet told his wife and my mother." Tanaji said that his mother and Rekha have been told that Sunil is one of the two injured soldiers and is currently undergoing treatment.
He added, "Prior to going for his mission [in Siachen], he called us and said he had to change his location because of the change in climate. He said he would not able to speak to us for two weeks at least, and asked us to not worry about him, promising that he will return soon."
The Suryawanshis were going to conduct a house warming in their brand new home on Sunil’s return, along with his daughter Tanuja’s second birthday, on February 19. Rekha said, "He had asked me to gift our daughter a gun and a doll on his behalf, for her birthday on February 19. Sunil loved weapons. He had also suggested having the house warming ceremony with Tanuja’s birthday, so that all of our neighbours could gather and have fun."
*A teacher remembers*
Remembering her student, Sunil’s school teacher Vandana Surywanshi-Bhosale, from the Primary District School in Maskarwadi said, "Sunil was better known as Sonya by his school friends. He was the most talented boy in my class. I was his class teacher from class second till fourth. He was not only good in studies but was also good at games. He was fond of cricket and was a patriot. He was an all-rounder and a good debater.
She added, "I still remember how his classmates left school and started working in farms, but Sunil would walk to the other village daily to complete his studies till the tenth standard. He was also assisting his father in the farm during his school days. He was a respectful person. Last year, when I visited the school, he had called me over for lunch. He was a very down to earth man."Rocky road to the martyrâÂÂs homeMartyr Sunil Suryawanshi's mortal remains will reach his village by Friday. However, the roads leading to his home are not in a good condition. While the local authorities have started working on the road, a dispute has arisen in between two villagers whose land is being used for the road.
Mohan Patil, a local, said, "The roads are in such a bad condition and there is not even a proper road to peacefully bring his mortal remains to his house. To overcome this issue, the local administrative bodies commenced work [on the road] but two farmers were fighting amongst themselves on a personal land issue. But, that has been resolved. The repair will finish by Wednesday night."
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/feb/Devotees-s.jpg*Devotees pray for the long life of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad on the banks of Ganga in Allahabad yesterday. Pics/PTI*
"The brave solider displayed a high degree of initiative and has served 10 years in difficult and challenging areas out of 13 years of total service," a senior army officer said.
Hanamanthappa, who hails from Karnataka, was found alive on Monday, trapped under 25-feet of snow for six days after an avalanche hit his post at an altitude of 19,600 feet close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan. The temperature at that altitude was -45 degrees Celsius.
*Highly motivated*
"The 33-year-old serving soldier, who was enrolled in 19th Battalion of the Madras Regiment on October 25, 2002, is highly motivated and physically fit...He opted for challenging terrains from the beginning. Her has served in Mahore (J&K) from 2003 to 2006, where he was actively involved in counter insurgency operations. He again volunteered to serve with 54 Rashtriya Rifles (Madras) from 2008 to 2010 where he displayed indomitable courage and gallantry in fighting terrorism during his tenure," the officer added. Reported by Mid-Day 12 hours ago.