As India’s entire Sukhoi-30 fleet remains grounded, and a committee still inquires into the Cheetah helicopter crash which killed three young officers this month in Uttar Pradesh, the wives of serving Army officials have joined hands to petition to the Prime Minister. In a first, the ‘Indian Army Wives Agitation Group’ has sought the immediate replacement of outdated and unsafe military equipment.
“We think that precious life should not be wasted like this in mishaps, just because better equipment could have been made available to them,” said Shuchi, wife of a serving Major. The spouses of 31 officers have formed the ‘Indian Army Wives Agitation’ Group this month.
They have written to the Prime Minister and have also petitioned on the web portal change.org. After giving details about the October 1 chopper crash at Bareilly, the petition urges the PM to “replace outdated and unsafe military equipment that endangers the lives of our soldiers.” They expressed faith that the Prime Minister will take immediate steps to address the issue.
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“We have faith in the Prime Minister who has shown so much of encouragement to the Army. He also spent his Diwali with the soldiers in Siachen. We are sure that if things come to his notice, action will be taken. We need to bring it out and discuss it in the open,” Ms Shuchi said.
The group also intends to give a representation to the Registrar of the Supreme Court about the problems in Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
“Then Defence Minister A K Antony had said on the floor of the House a few years ago that the Cheetah fleet will be replaced soon. But more than four years later, the Army is still using it,” Meenal Bhosale, another founder member, said.
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Throwing light on the plight of the wives of serving officials, Ms Meenal said, “We lead a highly stressful life. Every hour of the night or the day, we are scared. We pray for the safety of our husbands and feel shattered by every news of a chopper crashing within minutes of taking off. The officers who die in such mishaps are people we have mingled with. They leave behind families of newly born babies, and recently-wed spouses. It is distressing to see their shattered lives.”
Explaining the reason behind forming the group, she said, “We are here to deal with issues related to Army personnel and their families – retired or serving, where the govt is showing in-activeness. This also includes issues related to outdated equipment using by soldiers which is causing threat to their life.”
Harshala Garje, who lost her husband to a Chetak chopper crash near Nashik four years ago, also emphasised on the need to replace outdated equipment. Her husband Major Atul Garje, and another officer, died while trying to save civilian lives, when they detected technical snag in their chopper. Major Garje had recently become a father then.
The Army has so far issued several requests to the Defence Ministry for the replacement of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which have long been obsolete. The technology has been outdated, and many Cheetah choppers have flown over 6000 hours while there were built for 4500 flying hours.