Operation Rahat ( ''Rāhat'', lit. "Relief") was the name given to the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

's rescue operations to evacuate civilians affected by the

2013 North India floods In June 2013, a mid-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, 2004 tsunami. The r ...

. Thousands of pilgrims in transit in the hill states of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

were stranded in various valleys. It was one of the largest operations of the Indian Armed Forces in several decades. and IAF claims it to be the biggest civilian rescue operation in the world carried out by any air force using helicopters. During the first phase of the operation From 17 June 2013, the IAF

airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of Materiel, supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material lo ...

ed a total of 19,600 people - flying a total of 2,140

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

s and dropping/landing a total of 3,82,400 kg of relief material and equipment. Air Vice Marshal (then) SRK Nair was the IAF coordinator on ground at Uttarakhand. On 16 June, following

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...

s due to heavy rains, assistance was sought from the IAF for rescue operations. The

Western Air Command The Western Air Command (WAC) is the regional command of Indian Air Force headquartered in New Delhi. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of ...

(WAC) responded to the requests and undertook simultaneous tasks in the sectors of Yamunanagar,

Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86.5 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarters. Kedarnath is the most remote ...

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a Hindu holy place, and is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage. It is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage c ...

axis,

Rudraprayag Rudraprayag is a city and a municipality in Rudraprayag district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini. Keda ...

valley and the Karcham- Puh axis. Air Commodore Rajesh Isser was appointed Task Force Commander of Operation Rahat. The

Sarsawa Air Force Station Sarsawa Air Force Station is located approximately from Saharanpur City, Uttar Pradesh, India and is approximately from Yamunanagar, Haryana, India. It belongs to the Western Air Command. Though the sole user of this airbase is the Indian ...

was made the hub centre with helicopters converging from the

Bhatinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda district. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa Region, west of the capital city o ...

and Hindon air force bases. A number of helicopters including the newly inducted

Mil Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories in Russia, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russ ...

V5 were positioned on 17 June at

Jolly Grant Airport Dehradun Airport , also known as Jolly Grant Airport, is a domestic airport serving Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, India. It is located in Jauligrant, south of the city, from Rishikesh and from Haridwar. Commercial operations began ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

despite inclement weather. On 17 June, a total of 36 persons were evacuated from

Karnal Karnal () is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. The city is well connected as it lies on National Highway 01, in the south of the city lies the cities of Panipat and Sonipa ...

by a Mi-17. By 19 June, the IAF had deployed 20 aircraft including 8 Mi-17 helicopters, 10

Advanced Light Helicopter The HAL Dhruv () is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's requ ...

s (ALH), One An-32 transport aircraft and one HS-748 Transport aircraft to carry out constant missions. IAF operations covered Phata,

Guptakashi Guptakashi, Gupta Kashi or Guptkashi is a fairly large town located at an elevation of in the Kedar-khanda ('khanda' means "sector"), in Garhwal Himalayas of Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand, India. It is known for its ancient Vishwanath Te ...

Gaurikund Gauri Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage site and base camp for trek to Kedarnath Temple, in Uttarakhand, India. It is situated at an altitude of 6502 feet above mean sea level in the Garhwal Himalayas. Anekadhangavadeswarar is revered in the 7th cen ...

, Kedarnath in Dehradun and Rampur, Karcham, Reckong Peo, Sangla in Himachal. The ALH were positioned at Pithoragarh sector for the rescue and food packet drop effort. Four ALH helicopters of the

Sarang display team Sarang is an aerobatic air display team of the Indian Air Force. Formally established as the No. 151 Helicopter Unit in 2005, the unit flies five modified HAL Dhruv helicopters and is based out of Sulur Air Force Station near Coimbatore in Ta ...

were also deployed for relief operations. The second phase of the operation entailing support of long-term rehabilitation efforts in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand started on 5 July 2013.

Aircraft used

43 aircraft's were used in the operation Rahat: *23 - Mi 17 medium twin-turbine transport helicopters. *11 - HAL Dhruv, indigenous light utility helicopters *1 -

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

single-engined Helicopter *1 -

Mil Mi-26 The Mil Mi-26 (, NATO reporting name: Halo) is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter. Its product code is ''Izdeliye 90''. Operated by both military and civilian operators, it is the largest helicopter to have gone into serial product ...

heavy transport helicopter *2 - C130J military transport aircraft *3 - AN 32s transport aircraft *1 - HS-748 transport aircraft *1 -

IL-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 (; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. ...

heavy transport aircraft The IAF activated its advanced landing grounds in

Gauchar Gauchar ( Garhwali) is a hill town located in Karnaprayag tehsil subdistrict within Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state in India. Gauchar is situated on the left bank of river Alaknanda and is en route to the celebrated holy destination o ...

and

Dharasu Dharasu is a town, near Uttarkashi in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, India. Geography It is located at an elevation of 1339 m above MSL. The Dharasu Power Station is located there, on the Bhagirathi River The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌ ...

in Uttarakhand to establish an air bridge for chopper movement.

Helicopter Crash

On 25 June, a Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed North of Gaurikund. All 20 persons on board, including 5 Air Force Officers, 9 NDRF personnel and 6 ITBP personnel, were dead. The deceased soldiers were given a ceremonial

Guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

by Home minister

Sushilkumar Shinde Sushilkumar Sambhaji Shinde (born 4 September 1941) is an Indian former police officer and statesman from the state of Maharashtra. He was the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Power in the Manmohan Singh government, and the Leader of the ...

at a function organised by the Uttarakhand State Government. Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne, Chief of the Air Staff said "We owe it to the lives our people whom we have lost, that we sustain the mission and complete it successfully". The IAF continued to operate from Dharasu and Pithoragarh detachments flying six Mi-17 V5s, two ALH and one Mi17 from Harsil - Maneri - Dharasu and Darchula - Milam & Kali - Ramganga river axes.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Indian Air Force Humanitarian military operations involving India 2013 in India History of Uttarakhand (1947–present)

Aircraft used

Helicopter Crash

See also

References