Leh (Ladakh) [India], September 22 : The Indian Army's top aviation officer, Brigadier Gurdeep Singh, highlighted the difficulties faced by aviators and technicians while operating at high altitudes in Ladakh.
"Flying at high altitude is challenging for technical staff and aviators," Singh told ANI.
Explaining about his scope of responsibilities, he said, "We provide aviation support not only to the troops deployed in Siachen Glacier but to the entire Ladakh. The challenges that we have to face at high altitudes are rugged terrain, lack of oxygen, and sub-zero temperatures in winters, which affect the men and equipment both."
"The temperature in winters drops to -50 degrees, especially at high altitudes, which become challenging for both men and the equipment. Training technical staff to handle the task is also a challenge here," Singh added.
The army official said that most of the aviators are not trained to operate at high altitudes, so it's a continuous process to train them for working in the world's most inhospitable regions.
"Aviators who get posted here are already trained. But most of them have not operated at high altitudes, so it's a continuous process to train them in the area, that is, 20,000 feet and beyond, and the temperature drops to -50, with narrow valleys, restricted areas, difficult drains, and small helipads. For the technical staff, it's a challenge to work early in the morning during winters," he said.
Speaking about the participation of women in the army, Singh said that the number of women officers is increasing.
"Women officers are the integral part, and their numbers are increasing in the Indian Army and also in aviation. We have women as engineering officers and logistics officers, and recently they are also flying the helicopter," he said.
"The army got different types of helicopters, the reconnaissance and observation helicopters, like Cheetal. RC's are for surveillance, LH are for various tasks like induction of troops, deinduction of troops, induction of store air maintenance, and also for casualty evaluation," Singh added.
Speaking on the use of helicopters, the army official said, "The aviation brigade has various helicopters primarily meant for troops deployed in the forward areas. But we are always there for Ladakh and for the civil administration as well when needed."
"A couple of months ago we had the Lok Sabha election. There are certain areas of Ladakh that are still cutoff, so we were instrumental; we flew almost for 80 hours. Unfortunate incidents took place last month when a bus fell into the gorge, in which people sought assistance and, immediate medical evacuation. We sent our helicopters to save them, and probably timely evacuation and prompt response saved a few lives."