*Martyr’s home village in mourning
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, July 29: A pall of gloom descended on border village Jindermelu in Dablair area of R S Pura sector as soon as the news about death of Flying Lieutenant Advitiya Bal in a MiG- 21 crash reached here.
For the relatives and neighbours, it was too hard to console wailing mother of the young Pilot, who was apparently not ready to accept the reality that her son was no more in this world.
Not only the family members, even neighbours and relatives were in tears while recalling the passion of Advitiya Bal for becoming a Pilot of fighter plane and take on enemies. They, however, expressed regret over the way he died while flying an ‘ailing’ aircraft instead of fighting enemies.
“Our child had joined IAF because he was passionate about fighting enemies on the battlefield, but after his death in the crash, his goal will remain unfulfilled,” said Karamveer, uncle of the martyr, who is also a retired Army personnel. Click here to watch video
He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to immediately retire the entire fleet of ageing MiG-21 jets so that no more young lives are lost. Pertinent to mention that MiG-21 alone has so far claimed the lives of about 200 Indian Pilots.
A native of border village Jindermelu, the 26-year old IAF officer Advitiya Bal was among two Pilots who died on Thursday evening in a MiG-21 crash at Barmer in Rajasthan.
A pass out of Sainik School Nagrota from batch 2007-2014, Bal was a new age role model for children of the village. “He was a role model for all of us, Since childhood , he was passionate about becoming a fighter Pilot and this was the reason that he took admission in Sainik School and fulfilled his dream,” said Sanjay Singh, who is preparing for NDA examination and aspiring to join defence forces. “We are proud of his martyrdom,” he added.
Bal was the elder brother and the younger one is pursuing Engineering in Delhi. Their father too has served in the Army.
Both father and brother of Advitiya Bal left home for Rajasthan this morning after the news of the MiG crash and death of both the Pilots was conveyed to the family.
According to the family members, body of the martyr is likely to reach the native village by tomorrow afternoon. With full military honour, the cremation shall take place at 4 pm tomorrow at the village cremation ground.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people from adjoining areas and various parts of Jammu thronged the house of IAF Pilot to share grief of the family members and convey their condolences. Besides, some officers from the Civil and Police administration also reached the house of Bal to offer condolences.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has expressed grief over the loss of two IAF Pilots and said that in this moment of grief, his thought and prayers were with the bereaved families.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in his condolence message, said that he was deeply anguished by the loss of two Air warriors due to an accident. “Their service to the nation will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of sadness,” he said.
The social media platforms also remained flooded with condolences and tribute messages.
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