Courage under fire on INS Jalashwa

Lieutenant Commander Shwet Gupta could have spent Valentine’s Day with his wife. It would have been the couple’s first. But he died on February 10 after trying to save five sailors trapped on the INS Jalashwa, where a gas blast occurred on February 1.
Gupta, 28, chose not to wait for a gas mask and leapt to the rescue of the sailors, who were inhaling poisonous hydrogen sulphide. “His last words still echo in my ears.... agar mask ka wait kiya to woh mar jayenge... aise hi chal,” wrote Lieutenant Ruchir Prasad, a survivor who last saw Gupta.
“He jumped and so did I,” Prasad wrote in an email circulated among the officers. “I was the last man to see him conscious before I fell myself and in those 30 to 60 seconds we were down there, all I remember is how he showed utter disregard to his own safety.”
The vessel, India’s second largest warship, was acquired from the United States — it was earlier called the USS Trenton.
Gupta, who graduated from the Naval College of Engineering, Lonavala, defied death for nine days after the blast in the Bay of Bengal. Six sailors died in the gas leak. “We have not seen God, but most of us in the 15th course saw his likeness in Shwet sir,” Prasad wrote. “He truly rode the storm…. I am privileged that I was with him at that moment of reckoning, when we decided to jump despite the peril.”
Gupta tried to create hope when there was none, Prasad said. “No paeans to him will suffice but he will be remembered for a legacy that our seniors can be proud of and our juniors can take inspiration from.”
He compared Gupta’s sacrifice to that of Lord Shiva, who consumed poison to save the world. “I saw him do it, and he did it like no one else. I hoped he’d recover but God calls the best people first. And Shwet sir never came second.”
Prasad wouldn’t want the naval fraternity to grieve for Gupta but be proud of having known a soldier, who like God “planted his footsteps in the sea”.
-
Students from tribal hamlets in Shahapur miss school due to overflowing river
The World Tribal Day is observed on August 9. However, for the tribals of Shahapur, the day was nothing more than a sham. The school children of three tribal hamlets of Shahapur in Thane district cannot attend school during monsoon as the only way to reach it is by crossing a river. Over 25 children from Bhitarwadi and Kothewadi hamlets of Shahapur lose connectivity to the other villages and the main road during the monsoon.
-
6 lakh traffic violators not paid fine totalling ₹91Cr in Thane
Over six lakh traffic violators who failed to pay the fine for flouting traffic rules have been served notice by the Thane Traffic Police. The police have asked these rule violators to pay the fine before August 15 or they would be called to the Lok Adalat to be held on August 16. The six lakh violators are from Thane, Kalyan, Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi and Mumbra.
-
Travelling to Pune or Goa? Take alternate route via Uran Phata, say Navi Traffic Police
The residents travelling to Pune or Goa will have to take an alternate route that passes via Uran Phata instead of the usual Mumbai–Pune Expressway, as per the directives of the Navi Mumbai Traffic Police. Motorists travelling to Pune as well as Goa are therefore asked to plan their travel by going through the alternate route via Uran Phata – Killa Junction – Gavan Phata – Palspe.
-
Kharghar advocate completes tough cycling challenge of 5,000km in 12 days
Cycling for passion or for keeping oneself fit is very common. But there is an extreme form of this sport, which is cycling for days together through rough terrains, unforeseen climatic conditions and weather. Kharghar-based an advocate by profession, Kabir Rachure, has finished third in the Race Across America – world's toughest cycling competition that tests the riders' endurance level by cycling for 5,000 km in a span of 12 days.
-
What’s your choice of poison? Maharashtra says beer!
Mumbai Tipplers in Maharashtra seem to be loving beer more than other types of booze. The sales of beer have seen the healthiest growth in this financial year, compared to other categories of liquor like wine, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor same time last year. In Maharashtra, beer consumption stands at 1,271.47 lakh bulk litres up from just 582.60 LBL, which translates into a rise of 118.24 per cent.