Sikkim lad gets National Bravery Award

Gangtok: Pratap Rai will be awarded the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak— the highest civilian bravery award— this year for rescuing several people from the Teesta when a bus fell into the river last year, killing 22 passengers.

Rai, 22, had swam against a heavy current to save many of the passengers.

The decoration includes Rs 75,000, a medal and certificate as well as a smaller medallion that can be worn at official ceremonies.

Arvind Mukherjee, the under secretary of the Union ministry of home affairs, has in a letter said the President has approved the Sikkim government’s recommendation of Rai’s name.

The ministry has asked the state government to organise an investiture ceremony at a time convenient to it for awarding the decoration.

On October 25, Rai, a resident of Samardung Busty across the river, was witness to the mishap at Bageykhola. Not only did he rescue people but also helped shift the injured to the local hospitals.

The youth has already received the state Jeewan Raksha Puraskar on Independence Day. Rai, however, is yet to learn about the national award. “We have just got the letter and will inform him in the next few days,” said a senior state home department official.

This is the second time that a Sikkimese boy is bagging the award. In 2000, it was posthumously given to Prem Pariyar, a rafting guide. Pariyar had saved six persons before drowning when a rafting expedition went awry.

Source: The Telegraph