Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, shared a special connection with Uttarakhand
File image of Bipin Rawat . ANI
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, shared a special connection with Uttarakhand. A month ago, on 9 November, he attended an official function in Dehradun when the state celebrated its 21st Formation Day. He was in Dehradun on a private visit too recently.
Gen Rawat had plans to construct a house in his ancestral village apart from renovating an existing house in Dehradun. He was concerned about the migration from hills and he had shared inputs from time to time with the state government.
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His roots belonged to a nondescript village – Birmolikhal – in the Pauri Garhwal district. His family back in the village could not believe the news of his demise. Birmolikhal is among hundreds of villages in the state that witnessed mass migration.
“We were praying for the well-being of (Gen) Bipin but fate had something else in store. He came here in 2018 to attend a religious ritual. The family feels broken and distraught,” Bharat Rawat, Gen Rawat’s uncle, told News18.
The village has only three members left and Gen Rawat’s family is the lone one. “(Gen) Bipin promised to construct a house in the village after his retirement as CDS,” he added.
His inputs to check migration from hills resulted in a separate commission to look after the issue from close quarters. Former chief minister TS Rawat said that being a border state with China and Nepal, Gen Rawat would often discuss ways to check migration in Uttarakhand.
“Not so long back, Gen Rawat inaugurated a walnut nursery in Malari (close to Indo-Sino border). He was clear on one thing that there has to be a workable livelihood model if we want people to settle in villages,” he shared.
A regular visitor to Dehradun, the CDS did his schooling from the city’s Cambrian Hall till 1972. The school wore a deserted look after the news of his demise. School Principal SC Beila recalled how Gen Rawat came to school in 2017 wearing his school dress. “We have fond memories and we intend to preserve them forever,” he said.
Col (retd) Ajay Kothiyal, who was actively involved in the reconstruction of Kedarnath after 2013 deluge, was in constant touch with Gen Rawat. He said that CDS was a ‘pahari’ in a true spirit.
“CDS was here (in Dehradun) only two days back on a private visit. He was working on a plan to renovate his old home. I regret that I was touring in hills and could not meet him” Col Kothiyal remembered.
“He would do every bit to support the local economy. Even the local sweets called ‘arsa’ would come in his Delhi home from Uttarakhand on a regular basis,” he added.
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