As the entire nation grapples with rising COVID cases and deaths, there's a sense of panic and grief everywhere. Amidst all the chaos, an 84-year-old Satya Broto Dasgupta passed away at his residence in Hyderabad. A former soldier of the Indian Army, Dasgupta had his morning tea little after 7 a.m., he told his wife "it's time" and few minutes later he died on May 9. No COVID complications or ill-health, but a man who lived his full life.
Upon hearing the news of Dasgupta's passing, his only son Joy Dasgupta returned to perform the last rites and managed to compete the cremation rituals after waiting in the long queues on Monday. Joy had returned home to be with his mother, who had just lost her life partner of over half a century. But the chances of that got slimmer by the day.
Joy had only gotten a few days of his emergency leave to attend his father's funeral. He will then have to return to resume his post on India's borders. Things would have gone as he had intended, but the task of getting his father's death certificate was slowly eating into his leaves.
Yes, a war hero Col. Joy Dasgupta, SM, serving as the Commanding Officer, 129 Infantry Batallion (TA), ECO, JAK LI, who must return to his post in few days is running from pillar to post for father's death certificate. The GHMC was of no help.
A decorated war hero's uphill battle in his home city
Joy, who has dedicated his life for the service of this country, couldn't get the help he needed to procure his father's death certificate. He is being redirected to different departments, with no help whatsoever. From crematorium to GHMC office and the civic body's app to call centre, Joy just couldn't find a way to procure his father's death certificate.
First, the Bharani Colony crematorium in Neredmet, runs out of receipts, which is essential to issue an official death certificate. The GHMC is yet to give the crematoriums new receipt books. When turned to GHMC app, there's no way to register a complaint on the issue of death certificates. When called the call centre, the agent redirected Joy to Malkajgiri GHMC office physically. After exhausting all means, Joy then wrote to the GHMC commissioner and sought his intervention given the gravity of the situation, a copy of which was published by Deccan Chronicle.
Is this how we treat a war hero?
The colonel, besides having served in the Indian Army and EME, has worked for national space agency, the National Remote Sensing Agency, and Department of Space. If that's not enough, his tales of bravery in Kargil still echo in the hills of the northern valley. As a Major in 18 Grenadiers, he has won the Sena Medal, on June 13, 1999, the Indian Army records.
"While advancing one enemy bunker with two Machine Guns which seriously impeded the advance of the assaulting column, he displayed quick response and forethought and moved with a small team to tackle the enemy position with total disregard to his personal safety. He closed in on the bunker and charged inside killing four intruders in close combat," the citation salutes.
For his numerous achievements in the Indian Army, he was also deputed overseas as part of United Nations peace corp. It is tragic that a war hero such as Joy Dasgupta, who is serving and fighting to see the Indian borders safe, has to run around for a simple task and those who display lack of responsibility are the ones turning a deaf ear to his requests.
