Kozhikode
The 122 infantry battalion of the Territorial Army (TA) with its headquarters in Kozhikode has postponed events scheduled for Saturday and Sunday as part of its Platinum Jubilee celebrations after Lieutenant Colonel and actor Mohanlal, who was supposed to grace the occasion, could not turn up due to ill-health.
Lt. Col. Mohanlal was supposed to flag off the Platinum Jubilee Heritage bike rally on Sunday from the West Hill Barracks to Beypore-Kappad and culminating at Eranhipalam covering 75 km. He had also planned several private events in the city on Sunday.
“The event is being postponed to ensure the presence of Lt. Col. Mohanlal, whose presence in the landslide-torn Wayanad had made a lot of difference to our Jawans who had done a commendable job. His standing alongside them has boosted their morale to no end, despite the horrors they witnessed,” Col. D. Naveen Benjit, Commanding Officer of the Battalion, told The Hindu on Saturday.
The Jawans from the Battalion were successful in rescuing around 200 stranded people at Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Wayanad where the fatal landslides hit on the night of July 30.
“Though the National Disaster Response Force [NDRF] was trying to save the stranded people, reaching Mundakkai was a task in the initial days. Our team crossed the river at a lean portion upstream to reach the survivors who had taken refuge in a Madrasa there. Of the 50 people, some were injured and had to be carried back to safety, which our team carried out efficiently,”, Col. Benjit explained.
Upon their return from Wayanad, Kozhikode city accorded the Jawans a rousing welcome and thanked them for their services. “With everyone looking up to us and from the way the city residents responded, the morale of the jawans is currently very high,” the commanding officer added.
Having cancelled the festivities in honour of the landslide victims in Wayanad, the Battalion is setting a fresh date for the bike rally and the public event soon.
