Bengaluru: The tears said it all. While some touched their feet, a few hugged them in gratitude. Others tied rakhis on their wrists, calling them brothers. The emotional send-off in Belagavi city was for the brave army personnel , who rescued hundreds of people stranded in the recent floods in north Karnataka. Risking their lives, 50 brave armymen worked day and night, wading through the flood waters to take the villagers to safety in rubber boats.
Many jawans even walked in knee-deep water to rescue women and children perched on their damaged houses. In a gesture of gratitude, the people of Belagavi city decided to honour the brave army men at a public event on Wednesday. Among the people present were a large number of saree-clad women, who profusely thanked the jawans for their help, feeding them the famous 'peda' and 'kardantu,' performing arathi to them individually and tying a rakhi (which symbolises a close band between a brother and a sister) on their wrists.
Some became so emotional that they broke down while performing the arathi and tying the rakhis. A few touched the feet of the army personnel , while others hugged them in gratitude for saving their lives.
The jawans reciprocated by presenting their 'sisters' saris as a return gift for the rakhis and as they boarded the trucks to return to their respective regiments, the women literally wept. Young boys joined in, chanting 'Jai Hind' charging the air with a sense of patriotism and pride.
Finding it hard to let go of the men, who had put their lives at risk for them, the villagers followed the trucks on foot till they reached the main road and the army jawans waved a final goodbye.
