Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jan 28: Braveheart Sandeep Shetty from Hassan, whose marriage was to be solemnized in a marriage hall at Hassan on February 22, lost his life, buried under a huge pile of snow brought in by an avalanche at Kashmir. Sandeep and his would-be bride from Bengaluru had been weaving dreams about their future life over cellphone, but the dream got shattered before it could be realized.

Sandeep Shetty

The girl was the first to be informed by army officials when she called Sandeep's phone, that he had gone missing after an avalanche hit the area. Sandeep's father works as vendor of provisions at weekly shandies. For the marriage of his only son, he had recently got his home at Devihalli near Hassan renovated. Sandeep, who was the pillar of strength for the family, was unable to come here for his annual Sabarimala pilgrimage this year as his leave had not been sanctioned.

The other soldier, Shrihari from Belagavi, survived the ordeal of having to spend two and half hours under a heap of snow, and returned for duty in spite of suffering injuries, on Friday January 27. On Wednesday, Shreehari and several others were buried under snow, and soldiers rescued him after two and half hours. Shreehari is injured in his head, shoulders, and limbs, and he is being treated at the nearby army camp. He is now busy with the works relating to his colleagues who died in the avalanche.

Shrihari Kugaji

Major Shrihari Kugaji of Belagavi, Karnataka, fought the nature and won! Survived the massive avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir. His inspiration was last year's great fighter from the same region, Hanumanthappa Koppad.

Narrating his experience in an interview to a national daily, Shrihari said he was inspired by the brave soldier Hanumanthappa Koppad. "It was about 5.45 am and I heard a loud noise and heavy winds followed by the ceiling falling on me. In no time, I was under the debris and ice started seeping in wherever there was a gap making it impossible even to breathe. As I was sleeping sideways, I could move a bit and kept some space open under the bed to ensure supply of oxygen. With ice mounting on the debris and my hands going numb, it became too difficult to lift anything over me. I kept shouting for help and was wondering what could have been the situation at the camp," he recalled.

"There were times during the struggle when I thought there is no way out. But I decided to fight it out. While praying for some help, I also remembered brave soldier Hanumanthappa Koppad who lived for five days under the snow in Siachen last year. This is no way to die for a fighter like me. I once again started removing the rubble piece by piece even as the ice kept falling inside. I pushed the ice under the bed and I even ate some to ensure some gap can be created to get oxygen in. Finally, after two hours of struggle, I could reach my hand out of the debris and snow. By then it was morning and I could hear rescue team members shouting for the survivors. They heard my voice and pulled me to safety," he said.

Shreehari's father, Subedar Anant Kugaji, received his son's call at around 9 am on January 25, informing that he had survived the catastrophe, and asking his father to perform 'Abhisheka' to Goddess Durga at Belagavi. Because of heavy snowfall resulting in blocking of all roads, helicopters are unable to land in Sonmarg sector, and Shreehari is camping with colleagues in another camp nearby, as per information. As against the norm of deploying soldiers for three years at this difficult sector, Shreehari has been working in there since the last eight years, it is gathered. He is interested in working atop mountain ranges and thick forests.

Shreehari's wife lives with her four-year-old son at Mumbai. He was felicitated by the then chief minister, B S Yeddyyurappa, in 2011 for environment concerns he showed before joining the army. Shreehari had earlier won an award from the chief of army staff for planting Indian flag atop Comet, the third tallest mountain.