Mali Reddy V

Biography

Naik Mali Reddy V was born in Andhra Pradesh and served with the 18 Engineering Regiment of the Corps of Engineers, one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army. His unit specialised in constructing bridges and tracks, and was equipped with the men and material required to provide mobility to the Army in difficult terrain. In 2005 his regiment was based at Chandimandir in Punjab. In June 2005 the Army was tasked with rebuilding four bridges at Kharo, Khab, Leo and Akpa in Himachal Pradesh, which had been washed away in the flooding of the Parechu lake. These crossings formed the lifeline of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti. In September 2005, Naik Mali Reddy's team took up the reconstruction of the bridge at Kharo on National Highway 22, the Hindustan-Tibet Road. On 8 September 2005, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Amardeep Singh, Naik Mali Reddy and forty other soldiers began the operation. After the first phase was completed, the 80-tonne, 60-metre bridge was launched. While the soldiers were fixing wooden slabs on its iron beams, the structure suddenly collapsed from the middle, likely due to a technical failure, and most of the men fell into the Sutlej. Naik Mali Reddy laid down his life in the line of duty.