Wayanad: Female Army officer praised for Chooralmala bridge; she replies
The Major is with a 70-member team of the Madras Engineering Group (MEG), also known as Madras Sappers, that rushed to Kerala from Bengaluru
A female Indian Army officer has come in for praise for helping build a key bridge in Kerala’s disaster-hit Wayanad district but she says locals and state officials too must be credited for the feat.
A photo of Major Sita Ashok Shelke standing on the railings of the new 190-feet Bailey Bridge in the landslide-ravaged Chooralmala village has gone viral on social media.
A resident of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, she is the only female officer in the army unit responsible for building the bridge across the swollen Iruvazhinji river.
Madras Sappers in action
The social media is abuzz with praise for Major Shelke and the Army for displaying bravery and dedication
The Major is with a 70-member team of the Madras Engineering Group (MEG), also known as Madras Sappers, that rushed to Kerala from Bengaluru.
The unit is tasked with clearing the way for the army by building bridges and finding and defusing landmines on the war front. It also assists in rescue operations during natural disasters.
Tough work in Wayanad
The MEG removed tonnes of debris and uprooted trees amid a rapidly flowing river to complete the construction of the bridge in just 31 hours, media reports said.
The construction posed tough challenges because of the unending rainfall as well as limited space to construct the bridge, which connects the landslide-hit Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Wayanad.
Major Shelke says credit for the successful construction of the bridge must not be confined to the Army.
Officer thanks everyone
"I must convey my thanks to all the local authorities, state officials, and everyone who has helped us from different places. Special thanks to the locals, villagers and state officials," she told news agency PTI.
Major Shelke and her colleagues, locals say, have been working almost non-stop in the disaster-hit areas, at times skipping meals and foregoing even sleep. She and her team helped save many people and recover the dead.
Lt Col JS Sodhi (Retired) said in a post on X that the bridge built by MEG has the capacity to carry 24 tonnes.