Sepoy Anand Gawai

During 2017, Sepoy Anand Gawai’s unit was deployed in Gurez sector of North Kashmir for counter insurgency operations. In Jan 2017, there was heavy snowfall, resulting in multiple avalanches in Jammu and Kashmir. The Chandigarh based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment had warned of more avalanches in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh before 25 Jan 2017. The first avalanche hit Gurez on 25 of January morning, in which a family of four civilians died. The second took place around the same time in Sonmarg, chiefly a tourist area, where an army camp was located.

The avalanche that proved deadly for the army hit the post at Neeru village in the night of 25 Jan 2017. The post at Neeru village was located in Tulail area , 25 Kms away from Gurez town in North Kashmir. The place located along the LOC normally remains cut off  by road in winters. The avalanche hit the area few hundred meters away from HQs of 51 RR unit and trapped the soldiers ,who were on patrol. The army dispatched the rescue teams and seven soldiers could be rescued but, Sepoy Anand Gawai , who had been buried in snow for quite some time , could not be saved. Sepoy Anand Gawai was a valiant and dedicated soldier who laid down his life in the service of the nation.