Some 200 of twin-engine Dhruv are in use at present, though the requirement is quite high.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 11

Following an accident two days ago, the Army has suspended the use of advanced light helicopters Dhruv for ‘slither down’ operations by its troops.‘Slithering down’ is a technique by which troops are inserted into an operation and they have to ‘come down’ from the helicopter using a special rope attached to the helicopter through a contraption.The twin-engine Dhruv, a sturdy machine — some 200 of these are in use — is produced by the Ministry of Defence-owned public sector giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).Top sources confirmed to The Tribune that “slithering operations had been suspended till the cause of the accident could be known”. The Army is suspecting material failure—in simpler words, a fault with the material and its sturdiness on the copter.On January 9, three para-commandos were injured, one of them seriously, while practising slithering operations at New Delhi parade ground. The contraption fitted onto the helicopter had broken off. The HAL, headquartered at Bengaluru, produces 22 to 24 Dhruv annually and some 200 of these are flying even though the requirement is huge. Other than the Army, the Air Force and the Navy also use it.In September last, two top Army officers had a narrow escape when an Army Aviation helicopter carrying them crashed-landed in eastern Ladakh. The copter crashed at a location close to the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto boundary with China.Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps Lt Gen SK Uphadya and the Division Commander of the Karu-based 3 Infantry Division Maj Gen Savneet Singh were on board the copter. The crash occurred near the area called ‘Hot springs’. India is making a new road between ‘Hot springs’ and Marsimkla. The location was north of the Pangong Tso (lake).