One can only imagine the hardships that soldiers go through every day but we cannot even get close. A soldier risks his life every day and night for the people who sleep peacefully in the country. We feel proud of them but don’t really do anything for them from our end. But, an old couple from Pune made an exception and did something special for these soldiers of the Indian army.
Place Yourself In Their Shoes
It is important that we truly realize the hardships that these soldiers go through in Siachen. Soldiers fight for their breath in the barren frozen glaciers of Siachen. Famous for the highest battlefield, Siachen is 71 km long glacier and with a temperature of -11 degrees Celsius during daytime to -20 degrees during the nights. Since 1984, when India captured the lands of Siachen, we have suffered a loss of 900 soldiers who lost their lives serving the nation. India usually spends around 7 crores for maintaining their terrain. Currently, they have one oxygen plant for the soldiers and it costs high for its maintenance. It gets very difficult for the soldiers to breathe at such low temperatures.
Selfless Couple And Their Devotion Towards The Nation
An old couple from Pune, Sumedha and Yogesh realized the hardships faced by these soldiers and were able to collect a total fund of 1.25 lakhs to set up an Oxygen plant for them. Their heart-touching and provoking words were- “If soldiers can risk their lives and die for us, can’t we help them to even breathe better?” The wife has been relentlessly working for the betterment of the Indian Army since 1999 and is spreading awareness among the youth about the Indian Army and their sacrifices. The husband is a retired Air Force Official. They are a symbol of true altruism. The lady even sold her jewellery to raise fund for the construction of Oxygen plant at 13,000 feet high in Siachen for the betterment of the soldiers placed there. The couple has a son who is serving for the Indian Army as well.
Appreciate The Work Soldiers Do For Us
Such selfless acts are very rare to find in today’s world. These couples are an example in front of the youth and the society. It is time to think about our soldiers, not just during Independence or Republic Day but every day, surviving away from their families, fighting with enemies, many dying and suffering to protect us. Can’t we just acknowledge and appreciate their efforts for the country? We sure cannot swap lives with them but can at least do our bit and help them in our own little ways.
High Living Cost
Government is spending about 18,000 INR per second which could help in the building of 4,000 secondary schools in a year. The life comes at a cost in Siachen. If a Roti is of 2 INR here, it will hike up to 200 INR till it reaches Siachen. The death rate is usually high in this place as it is covered by Enemy territory from all sides, Pakistan covering 3 sides and China the other. But mostly, our soldiers die because of avalanches which are very frequent in the area and also due to the bad atmospheric condition.
Biggest Sacrifice
Yogesh called this act of his wife selling off her jewellery as “biggest sacrifice”, the wife decided she doesn’t need any jewellery so they went for this option without a second thought. Think about it, what is the importance of these materialistic things if we don’t care enough about the lives of people around us? It is high time we recheck our priorities and serve one another and work together for the betterment of the humankind.
Click here to read about the village that provides the largest number of troops for the Indian army.
