Suresh K

Biography

Sapper Suresh K served with 18 Engineering Regiment of the Corps of Engineers, one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army. His unit specialised in the construction of bridges and tracks and was well equipped with the men and material required for such tasks. In 2005, while posted at Chandimandir in Punjab, his regiment was tasked with reconstructing four bridges — at Kharo, Khab, Leo and Akpa — that had been washed away in the Parechu Lake floods. These crossings formed a vital lifeline connecting Rekong Peo, Pooh, Sumdo and the upper reaches of Spiti with the Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts. In September 2005, his 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, Sapper Suresh and forty other soldiers began the operation and successfully launched the bridge. While the team was laying wooden slabs on the iron beams of the 80-tonne, 60-metre span, the bridge suddenly collapsed from the middle, likely due to a technical failure, plunging most of the men into the swift waters of the Sutlej. Sapper Suresh, a brave and devoted soldier, laid down his life in the line of duty.