Take China’s help, track Dorjee’s helicopter, say residents
May 3rd, 2011 - 4:25 pm ICT by IANS
Itanagar, May 3 (IANS) Angry civil rights activists and influential student groups in Arunachal Pradesh Tuesday asked the central government to take China’s help in tracking down the helicopter that went missing with Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu on board three days ago.
“If India is not capable of tracing the helicopter, they should not hesitate to take China’s help so that we could get technological support from them in locating the chopper,” Takam Tatung, president of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union, told IANS.
Anger is palpable among local tribal people in this frontier mountainous state of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering China, Myanmar and Bhutan.
The helicopter that went missing with five people on board, including the chief minister, has remained untraced since Saturday, with the authorities maintaining that bad weather was preventing rescue and search operations and citing that the terrain was rugged and inaccessible.
“Everybody knows the terrain is rough and mountainous and it rains heavily most of the time, but is that an excuse? What would India do if China comes and attacks us?” asked Bamang Tago, leader of the Arunachal Citizens Rights.
Beijing in 2003 gave up its territorial claim over the Indian state of Sikkim but still holds on to its stand that nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it.
The mountainous state of Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,030-km-long unfenced border with China. The two countries fought a bitter border war in 1962, and Chinese troops advanced half way into the northeastern state.
Rescue teams have been trudging towards the snow-capped mountain ranges near Sela Pass where some metallic objects were detected by a radar of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). However, residents are angry.
“It is a shame on the Indian government that they were unable to locate the helicopter even after four days. Now with Osama bin Laden’s death, the entire Indian government is busy giving reactions and has simply forgotten about our chief minister,” said Likha Maj, an angry community leader.
- Rescue teams fail to trace missing chopper, announces minister (Second Lead) - May 03, 2011
- Search for Arunachal chief minister enters fifth day - May 04, 2011
- Concrete details of missing chopper by evening: Mukul Wasnik (Lead) - May 03, 2011
- Tribals find crashed chopper, Khandu's mutilated body (Night Lead) - May 04, 2011
- Arunachal wreckage is finally located by locals - May 04, 2011
- Crash site found, Khandu body identified (Afternoon Lead) - May 04, 2011
- Rights group demands Arunachal governor's recall - May 06, 2011
- Sukhoi aircraft join search operations - May 01, 2011
- With ISRO lead, rescuers search for missing chopper - May 03, 2011
- Arunachal chief minister's chopper was new: Pawan Hans - May 01, 2011
- Wreckage of Arunachal chief minister's chopper found (Lead) - May 04, 2011
- Chopper with Arunachal chief minister missing (Second Lead) - Apr 30, 2011
- Five bodies, wreckage of Dorjee Khandu's chopper found (Second Lead) - May 04, 2011
- Make roads first, rail tracks later: Arunachal residents - Aug 10, 2011
- Arunachal chief minister's chopper lands safely in Bhutan (Lead) - Apr 30, 2011
Tags: bad weather, border war, central government, chief minister, chinese troops, citizens rights, civil rights activists, indian government, indian space research, indian space research organisation, metallic objects, mountain ranges, mountainous state, northeastern state, search operations, state of arunachal pradesh, state of sikkim, students union, technological support, territorial claim