Ropar DC gives his number to distressed elderly woman in flood-affected area

Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, August 19

In flood-affected Ropar, Deputy Commissioner Sumeet Jarangal went beyond the call of duty as he gave a distressed elderly woman—whose ‘kuccha’ house was washed away in the flood—his contact number.

In a video clip, a crowd can be seen gathered around Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who toured Ropar on Monday to assess the damage to the area. It is here that the exchange between the woman and Jarangal took place.

The woman claimed that she was entirely dependent on her goats for livelihood—which, too, were washed away.  In the clip, the woman could be heard pleading for help.  

In response, Jarangal handed over his phone number, written on a piece of paper, to the elderly woman. Jarangal addressed the woman as ‘mata’ (mother), but asked her to not share the number with anyone else. 

“The number is exclusively for her,” he is heard saying. He then tells the woman she could visit him at anytime.  

Speaking to The Tribune, Jarangal said: “The woman was all alone, she said she has no one and was old too. So I thought it was best to reach out to her in this manner”.

Someone's heard saying in the video that there were some embankments around the woman’s house, which were deliberately destroyed. 

“Those who destroyed it should be punished,” the elderly woman could be heard saying in the video. 

Addressing the crowd, Jarangal said: “I will come in evening. We will provide you food and clothing. I won’t lie, at this time, our priority is to save everyone’s lives. Then, we will save your belongings”.   

Following heavy rains in the region, dozens of villages in the Ropar district are flooded. Keeping in view the deteriorating situation, the district administration on Sunday ordered evacuation from 35 villages and other locations on the banks of the Budhki and Sarsa rivers.