True tribute to father: Hanamanthappa's widow wants daughter to join Army

Nagpur: Wife of Siachen braveheart Hanamanthappa Koppad, Mahadevi Ashok Bilebal wants their only daughter to join the Indian Army when she grows up. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, 33, who epitomised grit and determination was miraculously pulled out alive from under 30-feet of ice-and-snow debris where he lay buried for six days on the unforgiving Siachen glacier. He died in Delhi on 11 February. [caption id=“attachment_2620352” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad. IBNLive[/caption] “I do not have a son but have no regrets for I have a lovely daughter. And I have one wish: to raise her into a strong Indian who will join the Indian Army when she grows up. That will be the true tribute to her brave father,” the young widow of Hanamanthappa said in Nagpur on Thursday where she along with the jawan’s mother Basamma were felicitated. Hanamanthappa’s brother Shankar Gowda too was present on the occasion where Kanchan Gadkari, wife of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, presented a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the jawan’s family. The soldier was laid to rest with full state honours, after thousands of people bid an emotional farewell to the Siachen braveheart at his native village of Betadur in Dharwad district of north Karnataka earlier this month. The youth wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Yuva Jagaran Manch had organised a programme to honour the martyr. Sunil Ambekar, National Organising Secretary of ABVP; Mayor Praveen Datke; and retired Col Sunil Deshpande were also present. PTI