June 29, 2013
“So the men and the young boys of our country have made us proud.”
When you read the above phrase what is the first thing that comes to your mind? I wouldn't be surprised if it is the men in blue with the ridiculous looking white blazers that you are thinking of. But no I am actually talking about the men in green and brown, our army men who are actually doing what is worthy of them.
India was recently hit by a major calamity, the floods in Uttarkhand and surrounding areas.
People went to Kedarnath to pray for good fortune, but fate has taken a bad turn with some of the survivors witnessing the horrific moment when their loved ones passed away in front of them. People who thought of taking shelter in the ashram were struck with tragedy.
The army has been in constant motion to effortlessly help the sections under damage. They have been trying to build up the confidence of the victims. They have put forth the best of their skills and deserve the country's recognition.
In an effort to improve the situation, authorities have even resorted to identify the missing persons with their families by using DNA samples, video footage and photographs of the areas etc.
People are still trapped under the debris. In such a situation although the government is doing enough, what is being observed is that our social websites on the days following the incident were flooded [no pun intended] with posts such as “Oh God why would Dhoni send Ishaan Sharma”, “Lets hope England loses in the game they invented” and so on.
The high intensity of the game of cricket overlapped the tense situation of the flood. The downpour in England received prayers and tension among the avid cricket fans but as it rained throughout the week while our jawans struggled across the hills; other than a couple of people no prayers were sent through.
Another heart breaking fact from this incident is the act of selfishness in the midst of calamity. News reports have stated that some of the pilgrims from the area have been looted by men of ‘God’. A similar situation was seen in our city of Mangalore during the Air India Express crash in 2010 wherein gold, mobile phones and other valuables were stolen from the dead.
Not to be sounding too negative, there is definitely a positive aspect in this situation with encouragements from the cricket team themselves like Shikar Dhiwan dedicating his ‘golden bat’ to the flood victims.
Faith has not yet deterred among the religious in this area. Owing to the prayers through the centuries, I am sure this place will be revived with our support and prayers.
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