Lt Col Seeta Shelke Wins 2026 Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for Wayanad Rescue
Award honors Shelke's leadership during 2024 Wayanad floods, including evacuation, relief work, and a 190-foot Bailey Bridge construction.
New Delhi: Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke led large-scale Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations in Wayanad, Kerala, during the 2024 floods and landslides. She coordinated with civil authorities and local leaders to ensure rapid evacuation, relief distribution and restoration of essential services, and directed multiple high-risk rescue missions under adverse weather, saving hundreds of civilians.
Shelke supervised the construction of a 190-foot Bailey Bridge at Chooralmala to restore vital connectivity to remote villages, using a Komatsu PC210 excavator in the project, ensuring access to markets, schools and healthcare for residents cut off by the disaster.
The Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026 recognises invaluable contributions in disaster management and is announced annually by the Union Home Ministry. A total of 271 nominations were received for the award this year, which is presented on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Shelke won in the individual category, while the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority was honored in the Institutional category for its disaster preparedness mechanisms on the ground.
This recognition underscores a broader push to highlight effective civilian-military coordination in disaster response and to inspire rapid, field-led action during crises. Shelke’s leadership also highlights the crucial role played by women officers in managing high-risk operations under challenging conditions.
Her achievements exemplify the impact of proactive, well-coordinated relief efforts in saving lives and restoring essential services when disasters strike.
