Siachen Glacier History and Glimpses of the Highest Battlefield in the World
| Meeting Date | 20 Jan 2024 |
| Meeting Time | 18:30:00 |
| Location | Poona Club |
| Meeting Type | Regular |
| Meeting Topic | Siachen Glacier History and Glimpses of the Highest Battlefield in the World |
| Meeting Agenda | |
| Chief Guest | Colonel Sukhjit Singh Yadav |
| Club Members Present | 40 |
| Minutes of Meeting | The Height of Bravery Guest speaker Colonel Sukhjit Singh Yadav, who retired after a distinguished thirty-year military career, gave RCPC members a glimpse of the perils faced by army personnel on the Siachen Glacier, the highest battlefield in the world. He pointed out the irony of the name “Siachen”, which means a land with an abundance of wild roses, but in reality, nothing grows in the snow-covered landscape, where altitudes range from 11,000 feet to 20,000 feet, and temperatures go from -25° degrees Celsius to -40° degrees Celsius or lower. As Col. Yadav pointed out, armed forces posted at Siachen face several enemies — Pakistan to the west, China to the north and east, and hostile weather conditions, where snowfall can reach heights of 32 feet or more. With stunning photographs of the bleak landscape illustrating his presentation, Col. Yadav gave us an insight into the stark conditions that our military personnel face on a daily basis and served as a reminder that all of us owe so much to so few. Earlier in the evening, President Ajay Chitnis thanked members who had made generous donations to various RCPC projects; presented a peek at the club’s birthday celebrations; provided updates on the Gift of Vision cataract surgery project and ongoing Eye Check-up Camps; the donation of a school bus to Mulshi Taluka by Rtn. Yogesh Shah; the RYLA Career Counselling Camp at Mulshi; the River Clean-up Drive at Bund Garden; RCPC’s Positive Health project; the distribution of nutritionally balanced food to students of Dasve Public School; the Fireside Meeting held on January 14, 2024; and the upcoming visit to 14 Trees on January 26, 2024. We offered birthday greetings to Rtn. Surendra Shroff, R’Ann Jasma Asher, Rtn. Prabhat Singh, Rtn. Shirish Mohile, Rtn. Basant Almal, R’Ann Teena Goyal, R’Ann Jyoti Kapoor, R’Ann Jalpa Tewari, and R’Ann Reshma Desai. We wished happy wedding anniversary to Rtn. Jayant and R’Ann Meera Luthra, Rtn. Payal and Mr. Sanil Rajpal, Rtn. Nitin and R’Ann Shweta Vijaivergia, Rtn. Basant and R’Ann Savita Almal, Rtn. Behzad and Mr. Histas Randeria, and Rtn. Surendra and R’Ann Radhika Shroff. |