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Goodbye, Bipin Rawat: Hundreds of TN people pay floral tribute during Rawat's final journey!

By alagu, 09 December, 2021
Bipin Rawat, Chopper Crash, Nilgiris, Tamilnadu

Hundreds of people in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district have lined up on both sides of the road as they witnessed the final journey of whom the entire nation is mourning, India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat. 63-year-old Rawat has died on Wednesday in a military chopper crash near Coonoor, Nilgiris. He was travelling in a Mi-17V5 chopper, operated by the Indian Air Force, along with his wife and top military officials. 

He was en route to deliver a lecture at Defence Service Staff College in Wellington. The chopper that he travelled had carried 14 people on board including the crew members and minutes ahead of the landing, it had crashed and hit the ground near Coonoor. The helicopter was burning for over an hour causing the people on board to suffer severe burn injuries. The incessant fire became an ordeal for the rescue operations to douse it and evacuate the people on board. The rescue operations had lasted for hours, only to recover 13 bodies. 

The chopper had crashed at 12.20 pm on Wednesday and the Indian Air Force had at around 6.00 pm confirmed that General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and eleven other persons had died while a sole survivor, Group captain Varun Singh has been getting treated at the Military Hospital. The tragic and untimely demise of Bipin Rawat had saddened the entire country and people across and beyond the borders have been paying their tributes to the four-star general and all other deceased. 

The bodies of the deceased were recovered from the accident site and moved to the Military Hospital in Wellington. The bodies were then taken to the Madras Regimental Centre in the Nilgiris on Thursday. At the Regimental Centre, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan had paid their floral tribute to the deceased officers while the government had made arrangements to move the bodies to Delhi. It was decided to carry the bodies by the road from the Madras Regimental Centre to the Sulur Air Force Base in Coimbatore. 

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Army Officers carry the coffin containing the mortal remains of Bipin Rawat during a funeral ceremony at the Madras Regimental Centre in Wellington, Nilgiris- Dec 9, 2021. AFP Photo

 

From the Air Force Base, an Indian Air Force Aircraft Hercules was kept ready to transport the bodies from Sulur to Delhi. The Tamil Nadu state government and the police department had initiated security measures to transport the bodies from the Regimental Centre to Sulur by road. Several police officers were deployed across the scheduled stretch to keep the way clear for the convoy of military officials and the ambulances carrying the bodies. As the convoy has become the final journey for Bipin Rawat, hundreds of local people in the Nilgiris district had paid floral tribute to Rawat and others by showering flower petals on the ambulances.

Hundreds of people have gathered on both sides of the road in Mettupalayam and waited for the military convoy. The visuals from the spot had shown that sacks of flowers were distributed to the people and they were seen showering the flower petals on the ambulances as they pass the area. While the policemen were offering salutes to the deceased general, people had raised slogans celebrating Rawat and hailing his service to the nation. As the ambulances had approached the Sulur Air Base, the local residents had chanted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. 

As Bipin Rawat had started his final journey from the Nilgiris, the people in the area had bidded a farewell for the general. Significantly, with the view of paying their respect to Bipin Rawat, the traders in Ooty had announced that the shops will be closed on Friday - December 10 from 6 am to 6 pm. After the bodies had arrived in the Sulur Air Force Base, they were moved into an Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft from Sulur to Delhi.

In the capital, the government has made arrangements to pay homage for the deceased officers and the ANI had reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval are expected to pay tribute to the mortal remains of Bipin Rawat, his wife, and 11 other personnel at the Palam Technical Area in the evening hours of Thursday. The Indian Army has said that the Mortal remains will be released to the Next of Kin only after positive identification.

 

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