The Indian army provided for a very rigid skiing training of two weeks at the High-Altitude Warfare School(HAWS), Gulmarg in North Kashmir for six specially-abled youths of the state.
This was a historic event, and flagged off by the GOC 31 Sub Area under the aegis of Headquarters 15 Corps and were ably guided and supervised by Commandant, HAWS.
The Chinar Corps initiative was anticipated at providing first-hand exposure to specially-abled youth of Kashmir in skiing.
The team was led by Lt Col Dharamdatt Goel, who is a war-wounded soldier and an amputee left leg. And the other six members included Abdul Rehman Mir, Gowhar Ahmad Ganaie, Syeed Nazir, Umar Salam, Musaib Rashid, and Rafiq.
The team successfully completed the 14 days of basic skilling course with effect from March 12 to 26 under difficult conditions.
“Several volunteers had approached the Army for the short course. Artificial limbs and other special accessories were provided by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, an NGO from Jaipur. The six skiers through their courage and motivating action have conveyed a strong message to the youth of Kashmir that despite the challenging situation in life, determination and hard work is always rewarded”
Army spokesperson, Emron Musavi
These specially-abled trainees learned the basic skills of snow-ploughing, sliding, gliding, traversing, and manoeuvring.
Despite amputations above and below the knees, they showed that the human spirit rises overall limitations.
All these specially-abled trainees covered a distance of 250 metres after finishing their theory lessons. The spokesperson told that the youngsters had sent a message to the Kashmir youth, highlighting how determination and hard work are always rewarded in all situations in life.
