Dorjee Khandu — From grassroots activist to Chief Minister
Itanagar, May 5 : A military intelligence man who participated in the 1971 Bangladesh war, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu had worked his way up as a local politician helping set up schools and organising drinking water supplies in far-flung areas of the mountainous State.
Mr. Khandu, who became the Chief Minister twice, was with the Indian Army's intelligence wing for seven years and received a gold medal for rendering meritorious services during the India-Pakistan war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
Becoming an Anchal Samiti member in 1980, he turned his focus to social work in far-flung villages. He helped arranging drinking water supplies, electricity and communication and also setting up schools in remote areas of Tawang, his home district. Due to his efforts, cultural and cooperative societies were established in Tawang.
This helped him consolidate his standing among the masses when he replaced Gegong Apang as Chief Minister of the State in 2007.
He led a cultural troupe to the 1982 ASIAD in Delhi from Tawang which won a silver medal.
Born on March 3, 1955 in Gyangkhar village in Tawang district, Mr. Khandu belonged to Monpa tribe and was a Buddhist with little formal education. He is survived by four wives, four sons and two daughters.
His political innings started in 1983 when he was elected uncontested as the district vice-president of the West Kameng District Zilla Parishad and worked in that capacity till 1987.
In March 1990, he was elected uncontested to the Legislative Assembly from the Mukto constituency.
Mr. Khandu was re-elected to the Assembly in March, 1995 from the same constituency and was given the portfolio of Minister of State for Cooperation.
On September 21, 1996, he was elevated to Cabinet rank and given Animal Husbandry & Veterinary, Dairy Development department
In 1999, he was elected to the third Assembly of the State and served as the Power minister from 1998 to 2006.
He also served as Minister for Mines and held the portfolio of Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation and Disaster Management.
Mr. Khandu revolted against Mr. Apang in 2007. When the Congress high command first refused to accept Mr. Khandu as a replacement for Mr. Apang as Chief Minister, he went to New Delhi with most party legislators and stayed put for 10 days till the AICC leaders relented.
After taking over as the Chief Minister on April 9, 2007, he promised to reopen the state-owned APEX Cooperative bank having 32 branches across the State lying defunct for two years after an over Rs. 200 crore loan scam was unearthed.
Within few weeks, Mr. Khandu secured a loan of Rs. 225 crore from PSU power major NHPC and invested it into the bank, enabling it to reopen, much to the relief of lakhs of depositors who were mostly poor locals.
His popularity grew further when he forced the Centre to open the FIC regional head office in Itanagar and godowns deep inside the State to check pilferage of PDS commodities.
In 2009, he was again elected unopposed to the Assembly and became the Chief Minister for second time on October 25, 2009.
The Rs. 24,000-crore special package announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Itanagar on January 31 last year made Mr. Khandu's popularity soar even further.
Khandu's relative identifies his body
Search party located the wreckage of the copter; relative identifies the body of Arunachal CM; Chidamabaram, S M Krishna condole the demise of Khandu
Itanagar: Five mutilated bodies and the wreckage of the helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu were found Wednesday near the Jang waterfalls in Tawang district, exactly 96 hours after they went missing, officials said.
A relative and panchayat leader of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu's Assembly constituency has identified his body, according to Union Minister for Development of North Eastern region B K Handique.
He told reporters that the panchayat leader Thupten has identified the body of 56-year-old Dorjee while the other four bodies have been charred beyond recognition.
The minister, however, said that only after the divisional commissioner takes charge of the body and the formalities are completed, they could officially confirm news about Dorjee.
Asked about the successor to Dorjee, he said, "Everything will be taken care of."
The single engine four-seater Pawan Hans helicopter with Dorjee and four others on board went missing soon after taking off from Tawang on Saturday.
Besides Khandu, others on board were pilots Captain J S Babbar, Captain T S Mamik, Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup. Inclement weather had prevented teams from carrying out aerial searches.
Krishna condoles demise of Arunachal CM Khandu
External Affairs Minister S.M Krishna on Wednesday condoled the sad demise of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, who has been killed in a chopper crash in Lobothong near Tawang District.
In a statement, Krishna said: "I am deeply pained to receive confirmation of the tragic and untimely demise of a great son of India and the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu."
"He was dedicated to the cause of improving the quality of lives of the people of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh," he added.
He further said: "In his (Khandu) death, the state and country has lost a visionary administrator and an excellent human being. I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to members of his family and friends.
Wreckage located at Tawang
TV reports indicate that the crash site has been located near Jang waterfall in Tawang. Appealing to the media to not speculate till the official confirmation, Home Minister Chidambaram said none of the bodies had been identified. "The crash site has been located, some bodies sighted. Let's wait for more information," the home minister told reporters here.
Search teams spotted the wreckage and the bodies in remote and inaccessible Lobotang area around 10 a.m. at an altitude of 10,000 ft. The area is surrounded by steep mountain ranges and is thickly forested.
The bodies are likely to be lifted to the first accessible point and then brought to Itanagar later in the day, officials said. Rescue teams could take three to four hours to bring the bodies to the first accessible point on foot.
The rugged and difficult terrain with rains and heavy snow is affecting the progress of the rescue workers.
The Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter had taken off from Tawang at 9.50 a.m. Saturday. The last radio contact with the ground was about 20 minutes after take off as it flew over the Sela Pass along the Chinese border perched at an altitude of 13,700 feet.
Six Indian Air Force helicopters Wednesday morning began an aerial survey along the dizzy heights of Sela Pass for the rescue and search mission.
Congress legislator Tsewang Dhondup's younger sister, Yeshmi Lamu, was the lone woman occupant in the helicopter. She was in the helicopter with the chief minister for a medical check-up in Itanagar.
The helicopter had two pilots and three passengers on board, including the chief minister and his personal security officer. Yeshmi Lamu was the third passenger.
The Arunachal Pradesh government had announced a cash reward of Rs.1 million to anyone who could provide information about the missing helicopter.
On Wednesday, six Indian Air Force helicopters did an aerial survey along the dizzy heights of Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh. Six helicopters - two each of the Mi-17, Cheetah, and Cheetak - took off from bases in Tawang and Tezpur in Assam at 5.05 a.m. Wednesday for rescue and search mission, IAF spokesperson Ranjeeb Sahoo said.
The Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter carrying the chief minister and four others went missing after it took off from Tawang at 9.50 a.m. Saturday. The last radio contact with the ground was about 20 minutes after take off as it flew over the Sela Pass along the Chinese border perched at an altitude of 13,700 feet.
Source: PTI, ANI & IANS
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