Ahmedabad's Kargil War memory lives on as a fuel station becomes a landmark
Originally from Shahpur village in Junagadh district in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, Rathod was the third of four brothers; Paresh and Shailesh being his elder ones and Dinesh the youngest. The family has settled in Ahmedabad.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Dinesh said that earlier his family used to stay in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad, which was close to the cantonment area. 'After clearing Class 12, Mukesh started preparing for recruitment in the armed forces. After failing three times, he cleared the exam on his fourth attempt. He joined the 12 Mahar Regiment, and before the final posting in Jammu and Kashmir, he was posted in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Punjab.'
According to Dinesh, Rathod's body was found 22 days after he went missing in Jammu and Kashmir. And then Ahmedabad MP Harin Pathak helped the family in tracing his body and bringing it back. When Rathod was killed, his wife Rajeshriben was pregnant with Mrugesh.
'His body was cremated in Srinagar as it was not in a condition to be transported to Ahmedabad. And later his ashes were brought to Ahmedabad by senior BJP leader and Gandhinagar MP L K Advani and an Army officer, Colonel Ranjit Singh,' said his elder brother Shailesh.
Dinesh said, 'Initially, we were not ready to take the petrol pump offered by the government. But Harin Pathak and local BJP leaders from Naroda convinced us to accept it. And eventually, the pump was allotted to us by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in 2000.'
Pathak, who is also a former Union minister, said, 'At that time, I received a postcard from Mukesh's mother (Samjuben) that her son had gone missing in the war and there was no trace of him. I immediately visited the family and then also met the officials of the defence ministry and some generals of the Army over the issue.'
'I convinced them to accept it while telling them that the Government was not doing any favour to them by allocating the fuel station,' Pathak told The Indian Express.
Land allotted by Gujarat Government
Recollecting those days, Dinesh said that the plot of land for the fuel station had been allotted by the Gujarat Government on a 30-year lease at the current location where it is situated.
'The land for the plot was allotted by then Ahmedabad collector K Srinivas. I assume that the collector knew this plot of land was going to be a prime location, and therefore, he suggested it for the pump. And eventually, we started the pump in 2001. We had zero knowledge of running a fuel station. And the officials of BPCL had trained us for a few weeks on how to run it and issues to be careful about,' Dinesh said.
'Today, our fuel station is a landmark reference point. Although it is next to the Gujarat High Court, most rickshaw and cab drivers cite the Kargil Petrol Pump as a reference point. It is that popular,' he said.
According to Dinesh, the Kargil War was mentioned in all formal events back in the day. So when BPCL officials asked the family to find a name for the pump, they decided to name it after the 1999 India-Pakistan war.
According to Dinesh, since the family did not have any experience running a fuel station, it was decided to ensure that one member is present at the pump 24X7.
Today, Mukesh's three brothers, his son Mrugesh, and nephews are running the fuel station. The family lives in the Bodakdev area of Ahmedabad, not very far from the pump, so that it can be managed effectively.
The area that was considered to be on Ahmedabad's outskirts is now among the busiest parts of the city, with the Kargil Petrol Pump becoming a popular landmark.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
West Bengal: ‘Massive weapon cache' found in flat, man arrested
A massive arsenal of 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, along with a large amount of cash, was discovered in a multi-story residence in the Regent Park area of Rahra, located in the North 24 Parganas district, police said on Monday. This finding has resulted in the arrest of a resident. According to the police, the arrested individual has been identified as Madhusudan Mukherjee, alias Liton. The investigation began after an earlier seizure of weapons in the Khardah area led police to an arms dealer in Munger. The police said that during interrogation, the dealer mentioned Mukherjee's name. Acting on the intelligence, the Barrackpore Commissionerate's Intelligence Department and local police raided his residence, 'Pratibha Manzil,' on Monday morning. Upon searching the flat, investigators were stunned by the sheer volume of weapons found. 'The recovered firearms include both domestic and foreign-made search operation is ongoing, and authorities believe the final count of weapons and ammunition may be even higher,' said a police officer involved in the investigation. According to the police, initial findings suggest that Mukherjee, who reportedly sourced some of the firearms from Purulia, was storing the weapons and cartridges with the intent to sell them. However, detectives are continuing to investigate whether a larger conspiracy is at play. The police said that neighbors expressed their fear and surprise over the incident. Residents described Mukherjee as a quiet person who kept to himself, living on one floor of the building for the past three years. They stated they had no idea about his background or what he did for a living, and never suspected any illegal activity. The Barrackpore Commissionerate however has not released an official statement as the investigation is still active. Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Geneva meet: Talks on Global Plastics Treaty resume today
STARTING TUESDAY, over 190 countries will get into a huddle in Geneva, Switzerland, to break an impasse and reach an agreement over the next fortnight on the first-ever Global Plastics Treaty that will create a legally binding framework to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This will be the second installment of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) of the UN. Countries will push to address plastic pollution right from the production stage, which uses polluting oil and gas, to the challenges of plastic waste disposal and recycling. Negotiators will pick up from the previous meeting in Busan, South Korea, last December, where talks had collapsed over critical and unresolved issues. These issues and disagreements were over the draft treaty's provisions on putting a cap on production of polymers, elimination of harmful chemicals from plastic production and phasing out of harmful plastic products. As per the Centre for International Environmental Law, a US-based non-profit, the current draft text issued during Busan contains 370 brackets, which indicate areas of no agreement between countries. It was in 2022 in Nairobi that a resolution was adopted at the United Nations Environment Assembly to develop global rules to end plastic pollution. If successfully adopted, the treaty would be the most consequential one on environmental issues since the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The exponential growth in plastic production is one of the key drivers of plastic pollution. Globally, annual production has doubled, soaring from 234 million tonnes in 2000 to 460 million tonnes in 2019, while plastic waste has more than doubled from 156 Mt in 2000 to 353 Mt in 2019, as per a report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Production is likely to triple in a business-as-usual scenario by 2060, as per the UN EP. The talks on the global treaty will resume in the backdrop of a new Lancet report which said that 'plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually'. Civil society and environmental campaigners have termed the negotiations a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to end plastic pollution and have called on countries to ensure significant cuts in plastic production. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
NDTV
3 hours ago
- NDTV
15 Militants Arrested; Arms, Cache Of Ammunition Recovered In Manipur
Imphal: In a sustained series of operations, the Army and Assam Rifles units in close coordination with Manipur Police and other security forces arrested 15 active insurgent cadres and recovered 69 weapons, 16 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and varied ammunition, officials said on Monday. Defence Spokesman Lt Col Amit Shukla said that based on specific information, combined forces conducted a series of raids during the past few days in Churachandpur, as well as Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur and Thoubal districts and apprehended 15 hardcore militants and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition. The arrested militants belonged to four banned militant outfits -- United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), and People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK). According to Lt Col Shukla, the joint forces recovered 69 various types of weapons, 16 IEDs, a few grenades, other ammunition, radio sets, and other war-like stores. These also included earlier looted service weapons, country-made arms, and explosives capable of causing mass casualties. These coordinated actions underscore the firm resolve of the security forces to maintain peace and stability in the region while preventing the resurgence of insurgent activities, the defence spokesman said. Meanwhile, a senior Manipur police official said earlier in the day that ten more militants of different banned outfits were arrested during the past 24 hours by the joint forces. The ten militants arrested in three districts -- Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur -- belonged to various factions of the KCP and PREPAK. Security personnel recovered pistols and various materials, including several mobile handsets, various documents, and some ammunition, from the possession of the arrested militants. The arrested militants were involved in kidnapping, firing incidents, extortion, seeking monetary demands and collection of extortion money from schools located in the Imphal valley area.
