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Three of the 30-odd pilots from the 142 Helicopter
Unit are putting in long hours to conduct sorties
from "sunrise to sunset" to reach supplies
and carry out evacuation from the remotest corners
of north Sikkm, the epicentre of 6.8-magnitude
earthquake.
The air base is the centre of all IAF relief
operations for the neighbouring state.
Flying the Cheetah and Chetak choppers of the
IAF, the women pilots have matched their skills
with their men colleagues and have "captained"
their respective choppers during the relief operations
in some of the most inhospitable terrains after
the tremor. Many inhabited areas are still cut
off from the rest of the country due to landslides,
and have been kept on life-support through air
bridges.
Flight-Lieutenant Arunima Vidhate, a 26-year-old
pilot who has clocked in over 350 hours of flying
the Cheetahs and Chetaks, said her first sortie
middle of last week was for carrying out a recce
of the quake-hit areas to provide valuable inputs
to the rescuers to reach the remote corners.
She also guided relief workers to reach the landslide
spots to clear the roads for rescuers to move
in.
Vidhate, who has been in the air force for four
years now, is a captain of her flying machine.
So is 25-year-old Poornima Ranade, who too has
clocked in 250 hours on the Cheetahs and Chetaks.
"We carry out sorties from sunrise to sunset.
I have done some sorties to provide food supplies
to tiny villages in remote corners of north Sikkim,"
says Ranade.
"The joy you see in the eyes of the people
and relief on their face when we reach them with
supplies and medicines, it brings joy to me to.
They are happy to see us, after remaining cut
off and hopeless for hours," chips in Vidhate.
"In fact, just hearing the sound of our
rotors, the people on the ground gain in faith
that there are people to take care of them in
their worst times," she adds.
Ask her if the stranded people are surprised
to see women piloting choppers coming to their
rescue, Vidhate quickly responds: "Not anymore.
People are now used to seeing women pilot airplanes
and choppers. In fact, I have seniors who have
done this for a decade now."
(IANS)
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