Daijiworld Media Network – Hassan (MS)

Hassan, Dec 31: A youth, who has reached senior citizen’s age now, who found the black box of the Navy helicopter that crashed on Western Ghats in 1991, did not receive the promised prize money.

In 1991, a Navy helicopter that was carrying very critical documents from Mangaluru to Bengaluru crashed on the plateau of Aramane Gudda on Western Ghats. Four people, including a colonel, lost their lives in the mishap. Even after frantic searching the helicopter could not be located.

After the helicopter crashed, many helicopters of the Navy landed at Sakleshpur and started searching for the crashed helicopter. In addition, 45 soldiers also searched for the same on foot. For two months, from morning till evening the helicopters searched for the missing helicopters for two months in the regions of Sakleshpur and Alur. However, they could not locate the crashed helicopter.

The Navy then went in for help from the locals. They announced prize money for locals if they were able to locate the black box of the crashed helicopter. Hundreds of youth of villages bordering Western Ghats searched for the same but could not find the black box.

Puttaswamy Gowda, a youth of 33 years, resident of Vanagoor village, continued his search in the quest of getting the prize, though all others stopped the hunt for the black box of the helicopter. After two years of continuous search he was able to locate the black box in 1992 October on the plateau of Aramane Gudda.

The then assistant commissioner (AC) of Sakleshpur, Atul Kumar Tiwari had offered a cash prize of Rs 10,000 to Puttaswamy Gowda. The then deputy commissioner (DC) had promised to provide four acres of agricultural land to the youth or a central government job. However, the government just forgot Puttaswamy Gowda, who put his heart and soul to locate the black box of the crashed helicopter.

Even now, at the age of 63, Puttaswamy Gowda approaches a new DC or AC who arrives at Sakleshpur in the hope that he will be rewarded suitably for his effort. But his appeals are falling on deaf ears.