Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar was stranded in a remote village in Uttarakhand for 17 hours after his helicopter made an emergency landing a few days ago. Now he expressed his gratitude to the villagers and ITBP for the warm reception.
The Chief Election Commissioner will travel to Milam on Wednesday afternoon to visit the remote polling station in Pithoragarh. During this period, due to thick clouds and low visibility, his helicopter, the pilot and two others were forced to make an emergency landing in Ralam village, about 42 kilometers away from Munsiyari.
“I hope the government will respect the villagers”
In a letter to the state’s chief electoral officer, BVRCC Purushottam, Rajiv Kumar praised the residents of Ralam village. He expressed confidence that the government will adopt this example of local residents’ participation in disaster management as a policy to inspire and commend them.
Deserted villages covered with ice and snow
“I sincerely thank you all and wish you good health and long life,” said CEC Rajeev Kumar, who also wrote to the Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police to commend the rescue team deployed at Dachula in Pithoragarh district.
Lalam, which is about 12,000 feet above sea level and covered with snow, was deserted a few days ago when all the residents went to Payton Village for the winter.
Three people came in the form of gods
Ishwar Singh Nabiyal, Surendra Kumar and Bhupendra Singh Dhakriyal of Peton village Braving difficult geographical conditions and bad weather, the four-person team of the election commissioner arrived at around 1 a.m. with some medicines and food. Apart from Pilot, Uttarakhand Additional Chief Electoral Officer VK Jogdande and another person were also present at the CEC.
Make tea for the election commissioner
Rajiv Kumar wrote in the letter: “There is a saying that a drowning person needs a straw to sustain him.” This saying came true when those three men came to our village of Laram in the form of God. His pet dog is also on the team, acting as a fourth player and security guard.
Around 5 am, a team of ITBP soldiers reached the spot and prepared tea for Rajiv Kumar and his team. At six in the morning, the helicopter took the team to Musiyari.