Indian hockey stars take part in relief, rescue operations in flood-hit Punjab

Team India hockey stars Rupinder Pal Singh and Gurwinder Singh Chandi and former member Jugraj Singh are now engaged in a different 'field work' - they are part of the relief and rescue operations in flood-affected Punjab.

Punjab is facing one of the most devastating floods with more than 1900 villages in 23 districts inundated. Over 40 people have perished and more than three and a half lakh people have been affected.

Legendary drag flicker Jugraj Singh (SP HQ), Rupinder Pal Singh (Assistant Commissioner, Under Training) and forward Gurwinder Singh Chandi (DSP, Kalanaur) are engaged in relief and rescue operations in Gurdaspur district.

Jugraj said BSF, Army, police, local administration and NDRF are working together as a team on a war footing.

''Rescue operation was the priority and then providing ration, medicines and other basic necessities. Now medical camps are being organized to deal with the threat of spread of diseases, and are being done with teams of doctors and NGOs,'' the ace full back told PTI.

Jugraj was instrumental in the Junior World Cup 2001 win and silver medal finish in Busan Asian Games in 2002 before a car accident in 2003 curtailed his glorious career.

''Our job is to see that there is no fight over ration and that the essentials reach the needy at the right time,'' he said.

Jugraj said being a sportsperson is an additional advantage while dealing with the current situation.

''The skill of taking quick decisions on the field is coming in handy here. Apart from this, a player sees lot of ups and downs, which makes him mentally and physically very strong and that is very important in such a situation,'' he said.

A member of the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal winning Indian team and penalty corner specialist Rupinder Pal said that this is a completely different experience for him.

He is part of the relief team in a cluster of eight-nine villages in Dinanagar sub-division where more than 1,500 people have been evacuated since the floods on August 26.

''The Gurdaspur district administration took very swift action after the floods. In my area, there are many villages like Makora, Marada, Kahna, Abadi Chandigarh, Jago Chak etc on the banks of river Ravi. Ravi and Ujh rivers meet here and this is where the flood waters started coming in. Some villages are along the Pakistan border also,'' said Rupinder, who has scored 125 goals in 223 matches for India between 2010 and 2021.

''For the first three days, even the tractors and trolleys could not move. On the first day, the SDM, DSP and I were stuck in a village where there was water all around. We stayed at the house of an acquaintance in that village. The youths of the village helped a lot. Whenever we were asked we would reach with tractors and trolleys.'' Rupinder said earlier many people were not aware that he had played hockey for India but when they came to know, more local youth started joining him.

''We evacuated 1500 people in Dinanagar sub division and about 6000 people have been evacuated in entire Gurdaspur. There has not been a single death there but there has been loss of livestock,'' he said.

Rupinder said an incident shook him when four members of a family were stranded on the roof of their kutcha house and the water in Ravi was overflowing.

''There was water up to three to four feet above the height of a sugarcane and we had to reach there with the NDRF team by boat. I was scared that day but the NDRF team kept encouraging us. We reached those people by going against the flow of water,'' he said.

Chandi, who has played 97 matches for India including the London Olympics 2012, said that teamwork is very important and it is heartening to see that many hands are coming forward to help.

''An old man was bitten by a snake in Kotla Mugala and was taken to a doctor. Apart from this, there was a girl's wedding, who was taken from a village in Kalanaur to the wedding venue. A pregnant woman was also taken to a safe place where she delivered the next day,'' he said.

When asked about the challenges of relief work, Jugraj said the real test will start after the floods.

''We go to the flood-affected areas early in the morning. Then we see how much material is there for distribution and then a listing is done as to where there is maximum need. After gradation, we sent the material for distribution. So much relief material is coming from all over Punjab but the real challenge is to deliver it to the people,'' he said.

''The entire crop has been destroyed and it will take one and a half to two years to make the land of poor farmers cultivable again. Apart from this, there is the challenge of resettling the homeless people,'' Jugraj said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)