They did their bit, the thieves theirs

Surinderjit Singh Sandhu

THE months of July and August, 1988, saw very heavy rains, followed by incessant heavy rains for four days in September. The Sutlej river in Anandpur Sahib was joined by many choes, rivulets and the river Swan from Himachal Pradesh. Those who have not seen the Swan in spate cannot even imagine the volume of water it carries and its current. As a result, the area witnessed unprecedented devastating floods. 

Anandpur Sahib has a unique geographical location. Many big villages and hamlets have been existing in the Sutlej bed for centuries, much before the Bhakra and Nangal dams. Earlier, it could be reached from Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar only via a pontoon bridge constructed at sarawan da pattan. Later, a big bridge was constructed at Kahlwan and the area opened out. The Swan merges in the Sutlej near Kahlwan bridge.

The area in the bed of Sutlej was worst marooned and Army help was requisitioned. There were reports that a small village, Harsa Bela, was under 3 ft of water and some kutcha houses had been swept away. The water level in the Gobindsagar Lake was rising because of continuous rain in its catchment area in Himachal. In order to save the dam, the water from it had to be released gradually. 

Army boats reached the village to evacuate its population. Unfortunately, the boat carrying three women and two children and some brave Army  men capsized. The area was near the Kahlwan bridge and the overturned boat moved fast towards it. Everyone was worried. Big ropes were hung down from the bridge by the Army, so the victims could grasp them. They managed to do so, but could not hold on for too long since the current was ferocious. 

An ex-serviceman, Harjap Singh, and another youth, Niku, barely 18, jumped into the raging river and followed the victims for about 5 miles and succeeded in saving them near village Burj and Gobindpur Bela. It was a great feat of bravery and concern for fellow humans. The story of bravery became a folklore in the area. The two children were saved by the Army as they had climbed trees taking them along. Some others were rescued by an Army helicopter. There was not a single casualty in the area. The brave men were honoured by the then Governor of Punjab. 

My driver worked day and night despite a heart problem. He died a fortnight after the waters subsided. Two days later, the CO of the Army unit came to me and narrated with all seriousness that the stepney of an Army truck stationed near the marooned village had been stolen. It was shocking to learn that thieves did not forget to perform their ‘duty’ even in the face of death. We gratefully arranged the stepney by collecting funds.