SCIENCE REPORTER, DECEMBER 2011 32

Feature Artic

le

T.V. KARTHIKEYAN

THANKS to the Indian Army I had the

enlightening experience of moving

closely and interacting with the brave

soldiers of all ranks posted on the front and

other border areas. Many of the high

altitude areas were unsafe, harsh, hostile,

and inhospitable. The first fight is with the

weather conditions before a soldier gets

to fight the enemy.

I was very much touched by their

philosophical approach to life, their daring

and ready-to-embrace-death attitude

and living adventurously in the present.

Before I pen down my memories from my

trip to the Siachen Glacier, here is a look

at some of the unique records that the

Siachen Glacier holds:

� Highest motorable road in the world –

18,000 ft. at the Changla pass apart

from other passes like Nathula and

Khardungla

� Highest SBI and ATM at Leh

� Highest artillery habitat in the world

� Highest salt-water lake – the Pangong

Lake on the Chinese border

� Highest, coldest and the most

expensive battlefield

� Highest Air Traffic Control and

� Highest supply unit.

The JourneyMy journey began in the aircraft IL 76

(Russian Ilyushin-76) commonly called the

Gajraj from an Air Force base to Leh,

Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir. We were

ceremonially flagged off from the Karu

Base camp amongst the glare of the

media by a Lt. General who had just then

landed from Delhi on the Helipad close

by. The entire event was conducted in a

grand military fashion keeping in tune with

the traditions of the services ceremonies

and functions.

The Army Mountaineering Institute at

the Siachen Glacier ranges provided all

the cold weather equipment and training.

The typical temperatures were of the order

of minus 3 to minus 30 degrees Celsius.

The dwellings in the underground

bunkers, the discipline, punctuality, the

precision in organizing every minute of the

visits to various barracks, shooting and firing

ranges, and ice crafting training to the

trekkers was worth appreciating in these

hilly and difficult border areas. Soldiers of

all ranks were calm, composed and felt it

their duty to make us feel at home.

Soldieringon

Siachen

A trek to the highest andcoldest battlefield can beadventurous and exciting. Butfor the soldiers, braving thehilly terrain and surviving thebiting cold seems secondary topatrolling the borders againstthe country’s enemies.

SCIENCE REPORTER, DECEMBER 201133

Here I would like to share some of the

events that I vividly remember during my

exciting and adventurous trip.

Remembrances

One day a wreath-placing ceremony was

arranged in the war memorial at a base

camp. As we got down from the vehicle

and we were ushered in to the specially

constructed memorial, news just reached

that a soldier and a porter had died at a

higher alt itude due to extreme cold

conditions. Due to windy weather

conditions the helicopter could not be

started to retrieve the bodies from the snow.

Often, the blades of the helicopter do not

start to rotate due to snow and the cold

climatic environment. The entire battalion

completed the ceremony and went

through the marching, salutes, etc with

stoic silence.

One soldier with whom I struck a

friendly conversation invited me to his

bunker shed room. He is decorated with

the Shourya Chakra for trekking the Mount

Everest fourteen times besides many other

high altitude zones. He leads a simple life

happy and content with the place and

likes to be posted here. He visits his native

village in Himachal once a year to be with

his wife and three children. He was offered

lucrative salaries by Swiss, Hungarian and

Austrian trekkers and trekking organizations

of Europe but he values his commitment

to the Indian Army and the freedom he

enjoys here. His only worry and concern

was that in the event of his death his body

should be retrieved and transported to his

native place safely to his family.

It was a surprise to find several soldiers

of all ranks having a scientific bent of mind.

Once they came to know about my

organisation they evinced keen interest in

the work and products of DRDO. Some

soldiers showed me the vast amounts of

scientific data collected in Siachen. They

had even zeroed in on problem areas that

need solutions. Many of them could make

good scientists. Some such problems are

summarized here…possibly some futuristic

projects might take these up and come

up with solutions:

� Camera batteries and other batteries

get self-discharged faster at high

altitudes.

� Lenses get spoilt often and even

cleaning/polishing does not help.

� Some days are a bit sunny but many

days are very windy. Wind power and

Solar energy may be used as the power

fails often.

� Hydel plants on a small scale can be

used only for six months, as due to ice

formation no flowing water is available.

� Biomass energy can be used.

� Use of polycarbonate sheets for

temporary huts may be replaced with

other materials as they crash on some

occasions.

� Kerosene is used for Bukhari heaters in

the nights but these are put off at ten in

the night as polycarb can catch fire

easily in the rooms. Bukhari heaters are

the only relief against the biting and

chilling colds. The clothing alone is not

sufficient. (I went through this ordeal

myself during the nights).

� Helicopter blades fail to operate on

some extremely cold and windy days.

� Many weather equipment for trekking

are made indigenously by DRDO and

Ordnance Factories but many more

costly items are imported and

sometimes are not supplied or refused

by foreign countries.

When snow falls, the snowflakes brush

past your nose and very soon the soft snow

turns hard. Snowfalls are a beauty to

watch…much better than rainfall in the

plains. It makes you forget all the hardships

and pain of trekking.

Indiansoldiers atopthe Tiger Hills

At Siachen thefirst fight iswith the weatherconditionsbefore a soldiergets to fight theenemy.

Feature Article

SCIENCE REPORTER, DECEMBER 2011 34

I saw heavy trucks manufactured in

the vehicle factor y at Jabalpur and

Shaktiman trucks. These were by far the

only movements seen on some roads. I

was reminded of the places where I had

my schooling. The Buddhist monks and

Lamas walking around sometimes accept

lifts offered by the soldiers only when their

limbs are too tired to trek.

A team of senior armed forces

personnel met us on one of the daily

medical and fitness routine checks and

took us aside to inform us that they were

on a secret mission and had just returned

after overflying Siachen and also as a part

of a pre-visit survey before the visit of the

Vice Chief of the US Army the coming week.

They excitedly shared their

adventures while giving us advices and

tips. And one day, a ‘No Movement ‘ for

all personnel and vehicles was declared

for a few hours because a foreign VIP

dignitary had come visiting. A helicopter

had landed just below my window downhill

from the bunker shed.

Pistol shooting, rifle shooting ranges,

Bofors guns and an indigenous rocket

launch sites were some of the facilities

proudly shown to us. These locations are

well camouflaged in the mountainous

terrains. I had the privilege of firing several

rounds from rifles and pistols at dummy

targets. Adequate precautions are taken

during these exercises. The famous Bofors

guns and several other indigenous

gadgets and equipment were also

demonstrated to us.

Ice crafting training preceded by a

demonstration by experts was tough,

challenging, exciting and tiring. This half-

day training was educative regarding the

use of snow trek equipment. It is a test of

physical stamina and human endurance.

The trekking team, including me, was

totally exhausted by the end of the day.

One day, we were invited to a

regimental unit. The place was straight out

of a fiction movie. A small opening in the

cave led down to a passage underground.

And down below were a full-fledged mess,

a well-stacked library, general reading

material, cutler y, a bar and all the

essentials for human survival. This

underground bunker mess was the finest I

had ever seen. We were invited to more

such gallant regiments and units where

they extended us all the courtesies.

Indeed, they were excellent hosts.

One friendly soldier gifted me two very

interesting books: The Continuing Siachen

conflict by Col. Raghavan and Kargil: The

Inside Story – A Soldier ’s Diary by Kiran

Baweja.

At the shelling and bombing zones

we were shown the spots that had been

infl icted with the maximum damage

during the Kargil war. We were also shown

the newly built barracks and other

temporary shelters that were shifted about

half a kilometer away.

Of course, for us it was an exciting,

adventurous and once-in-a-l ifetime

experience. But one could easily see that

raw guts are required to perform even the

most routine of tasks here. Flying helicopters

is an ordeal. Strong steel hearts are a pre-

requisite and a must to brave the chilly

and windy nights. The Sun rises at around

8.20 a.m. and dusk and darkness starts

around 2.25 p.m. But at the end of the

day you feel the adrenaline rush is all worth

the effort.

Dr. T.V. Karthikeyan is a Senior Scientist with theAdvanced Systems Laboratory, Defence ResearchDevelopment Organisation, Kanchanbagh,Hyderabad-500058

The ArmyMountain-eeringInstituteat theSiachenGlacierrangesprovidedall thecoldweatherequipmentandtraining.

The typicaltemperature isof the orderof minus 3 tominus 30degreesCelsius.

Indian Army on patrol

Glacier

Feature Article