“Life in Siachen glacier for soldiers: juice frozen to a brick and hammer needed to break eggs, but their smile is not lost in such dire circumstances. Updated : May 21, 2019, 11:32 IST. With appetite down and the body fatigued, the bowel movement also gets affected. These are taught over a month at the Siachen Battle School at the base camp, also called the snout of the glacier, at 12,000 feet. The iron nails anchoring the hut come loose and the structure becomes unstable, shifts and can even be blown off on a windy day. The conditions a soldier particularly dreads are dehydration, high altitude pulmonary oedema (water in the lungs) and high altitude cerebral oedema (water in the brain), which can be fatal. Please write more about life I'm siachen. Then, most of the times, up to six soldiers adjust to living in an igloo made of fibreglass, which is not bigger than a normal king-sized bed. The chilling temperatures and high altitude can take a serious toll on health. It's also an environmental catastrophe. All efforts to save the life of this 33-year-old lance naik, however, failed. Having served at the Siachen Glacier I can relate my personal experience. It has a window on the top for the sun to filter in. “At Siachen, the helicopter rotor is never turned off for it might not start again.”. How are they spending time during the day? In September 2003, the governments of India and Pakistan were urged by the participants of 5th World Parks Congress held at Durban, to establish a peace park in the Siachen region to restore the natural biological system and protect species whose lives are at risk. Winds at this height can cross the 100 mph limit in no time, leading to drop in temperature below -60 degrees. In short, if a soldier touches the gun barrel or gun trigger with bare hands, it can be the biggest mistake of his life, and might result in losing the fingers or toes. Chocolate and dry fruits, he adds, are the only things that stay okay. To cope, there is a compulsory interaction period. Sir Creek, likewise is a mass of uninhabitable marshlands where the alignment of the IB is in dispute for about 100 kilometres. India and Pakistan both claim the area and have thousands of soldiers stationed there. Pratidin Time joint editor Sunit Kumar Bhuyan, Journalist Pranjal Das & Video journalist Koushik Bortamuly spent a five-day weekend in Siachen border and Ladakh. Prem Nath Hoon, who led Operation Meghdoot and headed the Western Command, says Rs 20 crore is spent a day on logistics for keeping the Indian army at Siachen. How every step can crack through an ice sheet hiding a crevasse and swallow you forever. “If you are sitting outside on a nice sunny day with not a cloud in sight, you can get a sunburn and a frostbite at the same time,” says a colonel. For others, the life a soldier leads at Siachen is impossible to fathom. Often you . The glare of the ice can blind if a soldier steps out without the protective goggles. Thus, when a snowstorm is around, soldiers have to continuously use their shovels; otherwise the military post will be vanished in no time. For others, the life a soldier leads at Siachen is impossible to fathom. “You are a group of men — 10 or 20 to each post — stuck in the middle of nowhere,” says a major who served in Siachen in 2012. The body starts sweating despite the sub-zero temperatures because he is also wearing six or seven layers of high-quality, warm clothing. To make it through these, he needs to be evacuated immediately. Hard-Knock Life Born in Phukpochey village near the hot water springs of Panamik in Nubra Valley, Ladakh , Stanzin grew up in a modest farming household. Life in Siachen. Up there, one can get badly hit by frostbite if their skin touches steel or gun trigger, for a mere 15 seconds. Life at SIACHEN In heavy icy storms, it’s Zero Visibility at the SIACHEN Base Camp and it lasts for more than 4 weeks sometimes. “After a while you begin to forget that another world even exists.” Sometimes, he says, you feel it would be better being on a post where you are face-to-face with the enemy; at least there’d be something to keep you occupied. In such situations, they only have kerosene stoves to keep themselves warm. The Indian cyber Gog and Magog tell us that India acted in Siachen because Pakistan had plans to occupy the area. Life at the top of the world Life is not easy on Siachen's glacier due to harsh weather. So, when many of these retired soldiers come back to civilian life, and work as security guards and owners of neighbourhood Mother Dairy booths, it falls on every citizen of this country to give them the utmost respect and dignity. You can hear it crackle,” says the colonel. Every few weeks it also has to be shifted as the ice around it melts under the sun, making it jut out like a pillar. ... How every day is a battle to stay alive, every patrol a life-threatening mission. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Siachen Glacier, located near the Indo-Pak Line of Control, is known to be the highest battlefield in the world. You have been successfully added to the mailing list of Times of India Travel. Life at the highest battlefield in the world, Siachen is a cold war at its coldest The miraculous survival of the jawan and the incident itself, has generated a debate on the tough conditions close to 3000- 4000 men belonging to three battalions served under at the highest battlefield in the world. All efforts to save the life of this 33-year-old lance naik, however, failed. Below is an account of their glorious life: SUBEDAR NAGESH TT “From the base camp, it takes four to 10 days to reach the designated post depending on where it is located — central, southern or the farthest north of the glacier,” says Satpal Singh Kohli from 6 Dogra, who was posted here in 1989. Life is tough at the Siachen glacier, spread over a 76 km area, due to sub-zero temperatures that dip below -60 degrees, constant threat of avalanches, crevasses on the glacier, high-speed winds and a range of potentially fatal altitude-related ailments. Thank You for sharing!Your friend will receive the article link on email mentioned. Siachen, they say, is a wasteland bereft of life and resources taking avoidable toll of soldiers besides being a huge burden on the defence exchequers. Copyrights © 2020 Business Standard Private Ltd. All rights reserved. At Siachen, even if a fruit like apple is kept for a while, it will turn hard like a stone. “Even a normal, healthy person takes two or three hours to relieve himself in the morning,” recalls an officer. How much American singer & songwriter, Billie Eilish’s life has been changed in 2020. We cannot even imagine the hardships that the soldiers have to endure to remain active at a height of around 5700 m above sea level. “We were so starved of fresh food that once, after a gap of more than a month, some fresh food was dropped. But these structures keep coming loose and shifting because there is no foundation holding them in place; they are just hammered down into the ice with nails. It is is not just the harsh weather, but the non-availability of many basic amenities that makes life tougher up there. The retired lieutenant general is not for “de-induction of troops from Siachen — because if we lose Siachen, then we lose Kashmir” — but he feels that the deployment at the glacier has been mismanaged. That does not appear to be happening anytime soon. TRAVEL TRENDS, JAMMU AND KASHMIR Any soldier, if he is to survive the inhospitable conditions at Siachen where temperatures can fluctuate between minus 18 and minus 60 degree Celsius, has to first go through three stages of acclimatisation — between 9,000 feet and 18,000 feet — to get his lungs accustomed to living and working with whatever little oxygen is available on the glacier. “Normally, we avoid movement during day time when the chances of avalanches are higher,” says a colonel who was posted at the glacier in 1998 when he was 27. DailyTairah13. Siachen Indian Army, Life in Siachen Glacier, Indian Army Siachen Base Camp Aftab Dawa 0 Comments Indian Army Siachen Base Camp, Life in Siachen Glacier, Siachen Indian Army. Siachen Glacier, located near the Indo-Pak Line of Control, is known to be the highest battlefield in the world. But snow too can be contaminated. Music Is Life - Unisex Minimal T-shirt quantity Add to cart SKU: N/A Category: Graphic T-Shirts Tags: Artist , DJ , Minimal , Music Lover , Music Producer , Musician , Rapper He was a major then and was posted at Bana Top of the Siachen Glacier. “They would dance like female dancers from old Hindi movies with elaborate hand and neck movements” — all aimed at keeping the moral high and the troops cheerful. I ate bhindi (okra) raw just to get a feel of fresh food,” recalls Bhardwaj. Once at the post, the harsh ways of life in Siachen became routine. By Road and By Air. The sweat has frozen. photos and videos on Siachen ... Delhi Soldier's Life Saved After Receiving 'Brain Dead' Jawan's Heart From Siachen india. Incidents of soldiers dying in their sleep due to carbon monoxide poisoning from bukharis meant to keep the huts warm are common. Can you imagine how the soldiers stationed here manage to survive? Feb 10, 2016 07:06pm. Nmami Life – Best nutritionists in Delhi to guide you – New Delhi, India. Of course, one cannot survive for long there, while soldiers fight to survive the harshest climatic conditions in the world; staying for long at this altitude might eventually lead to numerous health issues. Soldiers spread the parachute cloth on the snow and write an “H” on it in bright colour, for example with melted red cherry jam so that the pilot can spot it. Rock-hard Eggs, Juice Bricks: Jawans Show Life at Siachen Glacier. The Siachen glacier, in northern Kashmir, is regarded as the world's highest battlefield. Here I am not gonna cut paste from Internet and write the answer. It is the longest glacier in the Karakoram Range, running 78 km long and the second largest in the world. We, however, have a request. Such cases are common,” says Kohli. ARY NEWS. Times Internet Limited. Last Updated at February 20, 2016 01:10 IST. He died in a Delhi hospital. For the uninitiated, frostbite is a condition that leads to amputation of toes or fingers when unexpectedly exposed to extreme cold. Bhardwaj is of the opinion that it is inhuman to expect the soldiers to fight in such an inhospitable place. Now, they have fibre glass huts. Things we should know about the unforgiving Siachen Glacier and the life of Indian soldiers who are defending the world's highest battlefield to save their motherland. Brace yourself! Copyright © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()). Reaching the Glacier 1. And to get a better level of understanding regarding how difficult it is to survive up there, here are some mind-blowing facts about the Siachen Glacier. These are the bravehearts who died in an avalanche in Siachen on February 3, 2015. He remembers two young officers who had formed a dancing troupe. It is in fact unimaginable how a soldier survives without eating fresh food for so many days. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. Vanity Fair shared the video, where Eilish discusses ‘Same Interview question, The Fourth Year.’ Watch the full video below. Each can accommodate six people and two can be joined to take in 12. It’s just difficult to get fresh food up there. So every few weeks, a new patch is dug up and levelled and the structure pushed into it and hammered down. Breathlessness, headache, loss of orientation, nose bleeds, stomach ulcers, skin and respiratory problems and hair loss are routine too. Up there, the Indian Army actually spends around 80 per cent of their time to prepare soldiers for deployment. This highest combat region in the world demands soldiers, who are not just physically but mentally strong as well. “That’s a difficult task because it takes a lot of snow to make half a bucket of water. “If you are stuck in an avalanche, this window also serves as an emergency exit,” says an officer. Meals are had together and every soldier has a “buddy” who looks out for him. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Earlier, letters from home would help lift the mood. Making a simple dal or chawal is a challenging task when temp drops to -30 to -40 degrees," one Twitter user wrote.