Lakshmi Kanth M

Biography

Sapper Lakshmi Kanth M belonged to 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 needed for such demanding tasks. In 2005 he was serving with the regiment stationed at Chandi Mandir, Punjab. In June 2005, the Army was tasked with rebuilding four bridges at Kharo, Khab, Leo and Akpa that had been washed away by flooding from the Parechu lake. These bridges were vital lifelines connecting the upper Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti regions of Himachal Pradesh. 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 Lakshmi Kanth and forty other soldiers began the operation. While the men were fitting wooden slabs onto the iron beams of the 80-tonne, 60-metre-long bridge, it suddenly collapsed from the middle, likely due to a technical failure, plunging most of the soldiers into the swift waters of the Sutlej. Sapper Lakshmi Kanth laid down his life in the line of duty.