Gauchar:
Amid hectic scramble amongst those stranded in upper reaches of rain-ravaged Uttarakhand, the ITBP personnel have won hearts with their exemplary courage and commitment, refusing to bow down in the hour of crisis.
They are up in the higher reaches battling a difficult terrain but even after more than a week, the ITBP men stand firmly against all odds.
The daunting tales of courage, conviction and loyalty of these men are now making their commanders swell with pride, as they continue to trickle down from the mountains by rescue choppers.
"No one (ITBP personnel) ever told us that they want to go down. It was just that those who grew weak and fell ill were prioritised for evacuation. We never had to care about these boys who were in no better condition than those who were stranded," ITBP Deputy Commandant A K Sachan said.
Sachan had reached here after monitoring operations in Kedarnath and Gaurikund for nine days. ITBP has now begun to bring down its boys from the troubled areas and is replacing them with fresh contingents.
"Things were difficult. I saw piles of bodies in Kedarnath. But I think we worked till our last. I even carried old men when I was running high fever," constable Ratnesh Boro, who was on duty for eight days at Kedarnath, said.
The troops recount how people "shouted with happiness" when they saw their rescue party at Gaurikund.
