Hyderabad: Around 90 per cent of Malli Masthan Babu’s expeditions have been solo. Groups are considered safer for these expeditions, even in communities of bikers and trekkers, because the members have each other’s backs. When Mr Babu was not going solo, it meant that he was leading a group of people. He himself had admitted that scaling the Himalayas had been tough. He was even injured during the expedition. People who consider him an inspiration should visit his profile on Facebook to know about his struggle with the Himalayan injuries and how he beat them.
Mr Babu carries a Garmin GPS, but he never uses it as he is well-versed with the terrains of the mountains. In fact, the rescue teams even called up the Garmin CEO for help with tracking him. But they were informed that the equipment only received and did not transmit. When Mr Babu was asked on a radio interview why he preferred to go on solo expeditions, he had said: “because it would be difficult for others to match my pace”.
Thermal sensing copters needed
Over the last week, the rescue operations have gone from on-foot search to friends-funded helicopters following which the Chile government extending help with their helicopters. The Andhra Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, has also extended help.
But the needs are different according to Umashankar Kopalle. He believes that there is a dire need for thermal sensing helicopters as well, to approach the rescue in Israeli style.
“We need the authorities to help us with Learjet recon aircraft, equipped with thermal imaging and remote satellite. We have already made these requests to the MEA.”
Mr Kopalle has been able to achieve a lot on social media, starting from posting the news on the India-Latin American forum, where he regularly contributes. Following this, Dr Rengarajan Viswanathan, former ambassador to Argentina, immediately alerted everybody.
Mr Kopelle asserts, “Never Give Up — this is what Babu preaches and practices. And we are firm believers of it.”
