Sanu Tamang and her husband Dhanraj Tamang (above) share a happy moment in a Siliguri hospital where Sanu is recovering from her injuries. (Below) Sanu Tamang.
Report by Gp Capt T.K. Singha, Chief PRO (Defence)
Photos by Capt Sandesh Rokade, Senior Photo Officer (Defence)
Siliguri: Last month, Sanu Tamang was rescued from a trapped car by army men in Gangtok on the night of September 18. It may be recalled that two other members of her family, husband Dhanraj Tamang and his younger brother Kamal, had a providential escape when the car in which they were travelling was crushed by a massive boulder that rolled down from the hillside after the earthquake on that fateful night.
Saved after a near five-hour death defying ordeal, Sanu and husband Dhanraj say they can never forget the kind act of the army men. Sanu suffered massive crush injuries in her pelvic region and lower limbs. She also suffered deep wounds in her stomach area. Incidentally, the couple got married only in July, this year. But defying death is not all that it takes to recover from misfortune, the couple soon realized.
Sanu needed specialist treatment and was advised to be shifted to a Siliguri hospital. Unable to produce documents of his wife’s domicile status, Sanu was ineligible for free treatment as per rules. A driver by profession, Dhanraj already had lost his only means of livelihood, the crushed car which was his taxi. With his younger brother also suffering paralysis of the legs soon after exerting himself in trying to lift their aunt, already admitted in a city hospital when the earthquake struck, to safety, Dhanraj was now at his wits end.
Dhanraj then decided to approach the same officers of the EME battalion who had earlier saved Sanu’s life, praying fervently for help. The golden-hearted military officers did not disappoint him. With a little intervention, the officers persuaded the state authorities handling the medical relief of the quake-affected, to extend help to the beleaguered couple.
But without fuel, which was already in short supply at Gangtok after the earthquake, the hospital ambulance was of little help. Realizing the grave danger to Sanu’s health, the EME officers refueled the ambulance from their own reserves, enabling Sanu to be taken to Siliguri. The EME officers continue to monitor Sanu’s progress and have been assisting Dhanraj in every way possible to alleviate their problems.
The selfless acts of these army men have revived smiles in the faces of this young couple, who now nurture a dream of blissfulness together.
