Natesan L

Biography

Sapper Natesan L belonged to the 18 Engineering Regiment of the Corps of Engineers, one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army, whose combat engineers provide mobility to their own troops by building bridges, tracks and helipads while denying the same to the enemy. In 2005 he served with the regiment based at Chandimandir, Punjab. That June the Indian Army was tasked with rebuilding four bridges — at Kharo, Khab, Leo and Akpa — which had been washed away in the flooding of the Parechu lake. These bridges were lifelines connecting the upper reaches of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti. In September 2005, his team was assigned to reconstruct the bridge at Kharo on National Highway 22, the Hindustan-Tibet Road. On 8 September 2005, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Amardeep Singh, Sapper Natesan and forty other soldiers launched the first phase of the bridge successfully. During the second phase, while wooden slabs were being fixed onto the iron beams of the 80-tonne, 60-metre bridge, it suddenly collapsed at the centre, likely due to a technical fault, plunging most of the soldiers into the Sutlej. A brave and dedicated soldier, Sapper Natesan laid down his life in the line of duty.