Despite losing family, Indian army man Jinosh served in Wayanad landslide ops

Over the last two weeks, hundreds of personnel from the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state authorities in India's Kerala worked day and night, to offer succour to the people of landslide-hit Wayanad. However, amid all these heroic efforts, the commitment and courage of the Indian Army's Junior Commissioned Officer Jinosh Jayan stands out. Despite losing four members of his own family, Jinosh made his way to his devastated hometown to join the massive Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts that were being mounted. His on-ground efforts are underway even at the time of the writing of this report.

In the aftermath of the landslide, JCO Jinosh learned of the loss of his uncle, cousin brother, cousin brother's wife and their 21-year-old daughter. He also learnt that his parents had managed to move to a safer location. Jinosh's family wasliving in Chooralmala, among the villages that bore the maximum brunt of the landslides.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Despite the personal losses, Jinosh requested an emergency leave from his Army Unit 321 Medium Regiment and headed to aid the rescue teams, armed with his thorough knowledge of the terrain, the exact number of homes, and possible rescue spots in the landslide-hit villages.

"I was posted in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, when I got to know of the wee hours landslide that struck my hometown in Wayanad. Aurangabad is more than 1000kmaway from Wayanad. On speaking to my parents and understanding the severity of the situation, I sought permission to avail Emergency leave and left for my hometown," JCO Jinosh told WION.

According to defence officials, JCO Jinosh made the best use of his expertise as a surveyor and created hand-drawn maps that aided the ground teams. Since August 1, Jinosh has been contributing immensely to the operations at the site of the disaster, despite all the personal losses and sorrow that he had to endure.

Jinosh said that his parents managed to miraculously survive the disaster, as they were able to move to safer, higher ground. However, his paternal family members were not so lucky. Of the four family members that they tragically lost, the mortal remains of only three members have been recovered.

While a significant portion of the forces deployed to Wayanad have been withdrawn, Jinosh continues to serve at the landslide site even at the time of the writing of this report. Jinosh is leading small teams of Kerala Forest Department Personnel and Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel in search operations in the remote and far-flung areas around the disaster site. He says that their teams continue to recover mortal remains, despite it being two weeks since the disaster unfolded. As of August 13, Tuesday, the mortal remains of 437 persons have been recovered.

Jinosh's efforts and tireless service have been recognised and commended by Kerala police officials - Ajith Kumar, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, and Inspector General Sethu Raman.